Gardai are once again alerting the public to the dangers of a phishing phone call scam that's becoming increasingly popular over recent weeks.
Fraudsters purporting to be from the Revenue and Department of Social Protection are making bogus calls and telling people that their PPS number or bank account details have been compromised in the sophisticated scam.
Other people are led to believe that that a warrant has been issued for their arrest and they're then advised that their accounts are compromised or implicated in some way with a crime.
In order to make their money safe, it will need to be moved to a different account.
While the methods used can vary, the gardai's statement was very clear on the matter when they said: "In all cases, what the fraudster wants is a victim’s personal data and control of their bank account in order to steal money from them."
In recent weeks, both the Department of Social Protection and the gardai have issued previous warnings about this crime but the most recent statement shows that this crime is continuing to happen.
In a statement, gardai said : "There has been a substantial increase in people receiving phishing phone calls from persons purporting to be from the Revenue and Dept Social Protection. The person receives a phone call initially or a voicemail from an 083 number. The voicemail is usually an automated voice advising them to press 1.
"Once this is selected, you are put through to a person who advises that their PPS number or bank account has been used in some serious crime, money laundering or drug trafficking."
Victims are also being duped into believing that the authorities are also searching for them in relation to a crime and that their money is in danger. Fraudsters have even persuaded some people to download nefarious apps to their computer.
The statement adds: "Some people are led to believe that there is warrant for their arrest in existence and are then advised that their accounts are compromised in some way or implicated in a crime and in order to make their money safe, it will need to be moved to a different account.
"In a number of recent cases, the victims of these types of crimes were persuaded to download apps and allow remote access to their laptops thus allowing fraudsters to have access to their personal data and online banking. They then move money into different accounts.
"In all cases what the fraudster wants is a victim’s personal data and control of their bank account in order to steal money from them.
"Fraudsters use deception to influence and manipulate people into divulging personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes."
In an effort to prevent these crimes from happening, Gardai are also asking members of the public to inform more vulnerable people about these scams and how they operate.
