Scam calls have risen exponentially in 2020 and 2021, with thousands of people receiving the dummy calls each day from people claiming to be from, among other organisations: Revenue, the Department of Social Welfare, Gardaí or customs officers.
It has resulted in thousands of euros being lost by people across the country to criminals.
And on Monday, we heard the heartbreaking tale of another one.
Zuzanna is a night nurse in the Mater Hospital.
She came to Ireland in 2007 with just one bag and €60 to her name, with a one-way ticket. She had done a masters in teaching in her native Poland and began working as a cleaner and a carer in a nursing home, before moving to a hospital as a carer before earning another masters to become a nurse.
Appearing on Liveline, she told host Joe Duffy of how she was caught out by a scam call after finishing a long night shift.
She told Joe: "They stole €6,600. As you said, I was finishing work after a night duty. Previously, I have only answered a scam call once and they said there was an issue in the tax office. But I hung up that time, you know that.
"The other day, they rang me while I was sleeping after being on night duty. I answered the phone and it was an automatic message asking me to hold in a threatening manner. They told me it was a 'last warning' for me, that my name came up in a criminal investigation.
"I was brainless, I waited for the operator and they were talking about how they were officers, they had badge numbers and case numbers. He described the case, saying my PPS was involved in money laundering and there was €180,000 in my name in debt and that there was an arrest warrant issued according to them."
Zuzanna took Joe through exactly what went through her head.
"What happened was, the first thought I had was 'I can't lose my job. I was meant to go abroad tomorrow' and I started crying hysterically. They told me then it was stolen identity, so they were going to 'protect me' and they told me to transfer my funds into a fake wallet app and they talked me through how to do it. They got access to my phone and were able to operate it from his computer. They told me step-by-step and I did it.
"They took everything. They cleared me out completely. Savings accounts, current accounts. They said they would issue a new PPS number. I am going back to Poland tomorrow, but otherwise I will have a mental breakdown. My friends gave me money, so I'm going to go to visit my brother and mother. I am looking forward to hugging her."
