The Irish public has had no respite from the ongoing barrage of scams attempting to part people with their personal information or hard-earned cash.
The latest of these attempts by fraudsters is to steal people's PPS numbers.
A warning has been issued by the Immigrant Council of Ireland alerting people to be aware of the scam.
According to the organisation, some refugee and asylum applicants have reported being inundated with fraudulent calls.
It says that scammers claiming to be from the International Protection Office are contacting them and attempting to obtain their PPS numbers.
The Immigrant Council of Ireland said the International Protection Office will never ask anyone for their PPS number over the phone.
It said on Twitter: "Scam alert. Some international protection applicants have reported getting calls from the International Protection Office asking for their PPS numbers.
"The IPO has confirmed they are NOT making such calls and would never ask for a person's PPS [number] over the phone."
Oluwaseun Ola, an asylum seeker advocate, condemned the scammers for preying on vulnerable people.
She said: "How terrible can you be to descend to this level of preying on vulnerable people? The panic amongst residents is indescribable."
It comes as Gardai are continuing to ask people who receive a bogus call from scammers to block the number whenever possible.
Over the past few weeks, the Department of Social Protection and the Gardai have raised awareness of the bogus texts, emails and phone call scams that have been requesting personal data.
Thousands of people have been plagued on a daily basis and the authorities said that the public "continue to fall victim to scams on a daily basis".
As per previous statements issued by the Department of Social Protection and the Gardai at large, these six bits of advice are being encouraged;
• Do not engage with the caller or return the call.
• Never Share Personal Information with anyone online, by text or on a cold call.
• A Member of An Garda Siochana or a Department of Social Protection employee would never advise a member of the Public to move money from their account or to purchase cryptocurrency or move their money anywhere to keep it safe.
• Do not follow the automated instructions – Do not press 1 etc.
• Never disclose personal or financial information.
• Hang up and block the number if possible.
