Following the recent 083 phishing scam that's becoming incredibly popular, the Department of Social Protection is once again urging anyone who receives a scam phone call or scam text to report it immediately to gardai.
In a statement, the authorities once again highlighted the risks involved with this sophisticated scam and urged members of the public to remain vigilant.
The warning states: "Customers and members of the public are reminded about scam phone calls and text messages they may receive from individuals claiming to be an official of the Department.
"These calls and texts display a range of numbers, including some which may appear to be from the Department’s phone numbers. The Department would like to remind all its customers that it will never seek personal information from customers via text message and will never ask a customer for their bank details over the phone."
Any person who receives such a call or text is asked not to disclose any information and to report it to the Gardaí immediately.
Elsewhere, over €102 million in Pandemic Unemployment Payments (PUP) were paid this week while almost 26,000 people closed their account after they returned to work
If anyone is returning to work soon, they're being asked to close their claim on their first day back at work by logging on to www.MyWelfare.ie
333,993 people received the PUP which represents a decrease of 29,174 people compared to last week.
The figures published today are in addition to the 177,969 people who were on the Live Register at the end of April.
Elsewhere, 9,000 people will receive an arrears payment of PUP that amounts to over €3.7 million in total.
Speaking today, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys discussed the impending publication of the National Economic Recovery Plan, which will include details about new incentives, aids and financial supports.
She said: “Next week, the Government will publish the National Economic Recovery Plan. This will set out in further detail the next steps in terms of the various State supports that have been rolled out to businesses and workers since the onset of the pandemic.
“In relation to the PUP, we have now spent over €7.7 billion, supporting over 860,000 people. We do need to be conscious, however, that some sectors are slower than others in terms of re-opening. Therefore, there will be no cliff-edge reduction in people’s incomes on July 1."
Minister Humphries adds: “The Government has not been found wanting from day one of this Pandemic in relation to supporting people who lost their jobs. Finally, I would like to remind employers about the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) which may assist with their payroll costs. This support can help employers as they re-employ staff upon re-opening.
“EWSS is based on employer turnover, and, therefore, most employers who have been closed due to the Pandemic will be eligible for this support. Further information is available at www.revenue.ie.”
In terms of this week's PUP, Dublin is the county with the highest number of people who are receiving the PUP this week at 111,566. It is followed by Cork (32,317) and Galway (18,290).
The sector with the highest number of people receiving PUP this week is Accommodation and Food Service activities (93,687), followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (54,391) and Administrative and Support Service Activities (30,603).
