The Department of Social Protection has issued a warning over a sophisticated text message scam that is targeting Irish users.
Members of the public have received text messages on their mobile phones from an unknown number, claiming to be from the Department.
The messages contain links that are made to look similar to the actual web addresses of Departmental sites.
When a person clicks on the link, they are brought to a site that has been specifically crafted to look exactly like the Department’s MyWelfare or MyGovID web sites.
The person is then asked to provide their name, PPSN and bank account details.
A Department spokesperson warned people not to click on the links or give away any personal information.
They said: "These are sophisticated scams. We urge our customers to be cautious when managing claims online and to ensure that they are using official Departmental websites.
"The real website addresses for MyWelfare.ie and MyGovID services are: www.mywelfare.ie or https://www.mywelfare.ie or https://services.mywelfare.ie, www.mygovid.ie or https://www.mygovid.ie
"The Department urges customers and the public to be extra vigilant and only use one of the above URLs when wishing to access either MyWelfare or MyGovID websites.
"Please do not click on or reply to links which appear suspicious, or are not one of the above links.
"The Department of Social Protection wishes to make it absolutely clear that we NEVER request Bank account or other Financial institution account details from our customers by SMS or on social media. Neither do we clarify or check this information over the phone.
"The Department wants to ensure that our customers and the public are made aware of this scam activity and that they keep their bank and other financial account information safe."
The spokesperson added that the Department is working to have the fake sites removed as quickly as possible.
Anyone who thinks they provided personal information in response to these fraudulent text messages is advised to contact their bank immediately.
