Gardai have warned people of a new scam doing the rounds which sees fraudsters impersonating officers.
In a social media post gardai in Balbriggan, Dublin said that had been alerted to a number of incidents where people have been targeted by scammers pretending to be members of the gardai.
They reportedly call on locals to tell them about a number of burglaries that happened in the area and also say that are enquiring about counterfeit bank notes.
The scammers are said to have made off with a sum of money from victims. One incident occurred at a residence while another occurred at a work place.
Now gardai are urging people to be vigilant of the scam as they launch a full investigation into the incident.
A garda spokesman said: "Gardaí in Balbriggan wish to alert members of the public to the occurrence of an ongoing scam in the area where a person or persons purporting to be members of An Garda Síochána are calling on people in the community re counterfeit notes.
"Gardaí were alerted to such an incident on the morning of Friday 6th August, 2021 that occurred in Lusk.
"The injured party was home alone when a man purporting to be a member of An Garda Síochána advised that a number of burglaries were happening in the area. During the course of the interaction the suspect managed to obtain a sum of money from the injured party alleging to be investigating counterfeit notes and left the scene.
"A second such incident occurred on the morning of Thursday 12th August, 2021 in Lusk. Two men entered a work place and advised the staff member that they were members of An Garda Síochána and investigating counterfeit notes in circulation.
"They managed to obtain a sum of money under false pretences and fled the scene.
"Investigations are ongoing into both incidents and Gardaí wish to advise that no member of An Garda Síochána would ask anyone for cash in relation to any investigations."
