Gardai have issued another stern warning to the public over complex scams where fraudsters pretend to be from the Revenue.
Imposters are also posing as officials from the Department of Social Protection, leading to a rise in the number of complaints.
The spike in scams since the outbreak of the pandemic is continuing, with hundreds of people being affected per week.
In particular, those in Munster have been scammed in recent times by someone pretending to be working for the Revenue department.
It's prompted the Gardaí in the Southern Region (Cork, Kerry and Limerick) to issue a fresh warning on their social media channels.
The update reads: "A number of people have reported receiving phone calls purporting to come from Revenue. These calls can vary, and the caller will seek your personal information such as your PPS number or bank details.
"Revenue will never ask customers to provide personal information via telephone calls or text messages. Do not engage with these calls or texts."
And they're not the only division that have been forced to speak out on the issue.
Officers in the Cavan-Monaghan region have reported a high rate of calls from people who have been scammed by someone purporting to be from the Department of Social Protection.
They said: "There have been a number of recent reports of scams in which members of the public have been receiving phone calls from persons purporting to be from the Department of Social Protection.
"The caller alleges that there is an investigation ongoing in relation to the recipient of the call and is ultimately looking for your PPS number.
"We would like to remind people that you will NEVER be asked for your personal information over the phone by a legitimate organisation or company. Please do not engage with the caller and hang up."
Detective Superintendant Michael Cryan has provided more details on the methodology and intricacies of how this scam is done.
He said: "Over March and April, we are seeing a continual increase in parties receiving phishing scams, these are phone calls from people reporting to be from service providers, banks, the Gardai, the Attorney General's office, and other social protection entities like that.
"One scenario that will be given to a person is where they receive a phone call from an 083 number. Initially, it's an automated voice that advises them to press number one or number two.
"Once they press the number, they're then speaking to a person who advises them that their PPS number or their bank account has been used in some serious crime - let's say, money laundering.
"They're then advised that their money needs to be protected, and it needs to be moved to a different account. In a number of cases last week, the injured parties were persuaded to download apps onto their laptops and phones, this allowed the fraudster to move the money into different accounts.
"When the injured parties questioned the legitimacy of this, they receive calls back from numbers which purported to be from the Gardai. This fraudulent caller confirmed to the injured parties that this was legitimate.
"The scenario being used by the fraudster may change - for example, one case may see your account being used for money laundering, while another could involve warrants being in existence for your arrest.
"In all cases, what the fraudster wants is your data, to take control of your bank account and steal money from you."
