Both gardai and the Government have issued a large number of warnings about a growing number of complex scams across Ireland.
Thousands of people have been affected by the scams, with hackers managing to swindle quite a lot of people out of their hard-earned money.
But a number of companies have clarified what to do if members of the public believe that a text, call or email which claims to be from the business is not what it appears to be.
Revolut
Revolut has warned users that account takeover scams and payment fraud are on the rise.
In a post online, they state: "Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to gain access to your account, trick you into disclosing your personal information or making a payment to an account controlled by them."
Revolut state that: "This type of scam can be really effective as fraudsters can easily ‘spoof’ phone numbers, to make calls or text messages look like they’re coming from Revolut when they're not."
The banking app has stressed that on a call, Revolut employees will never say any of the following:
- Tell you that your money is in danger or ask you to move money to a "safe account"
- Give you account details or pressure you to move money to a different account
- Ask you for your passcodes, passwords, PIN, card details or sensitive personal information
Alternatively, if Revolut send users an email or text message, it will never include a link to a website and ask you to provide sensitive information (like a password or PIN).
Bank of Ireland
Gardai have issued a warning about a text scam that has compromised a number of Bank Of Ireland accounts.
In a statement that was released earlier this month, a spokesman said: "We have received a number of complaints of fraudulent texts purporting to come from Bank of Ireland where unfortunately the recipient has clicked on a link and had their account compromised, leading to a loss in some instances, that has run into thousands of Euros.
"Your bank will never send you a message requesting you to click on a link. If you receive such a message please delete it and report it to your financial institution."
The fraudulent message looks like this image below and in response, Bank Of Ireland has also issued advice to their customers after being made aware of the recent increase in scams like this one.
Social Welfare
The Department of Social Welfare is urging people to be aware about a "very sophisticated" text and phone scam currently doing the rounds.
Minister Heather Humphreys said the sole purpose of the trick was to steal people's PPS numbers and bank details.
In a video posted on Twitter, Ms Humphrey's gave details of the scam and urged people not to ever give out personal information over the phone.
She said: "Some of these calls an messages are from people claiming to be social welfare officials and they are not.
"In one such scam the phone call begins with an automated messaged claiming that your PPS number has been used as part of suspected fraud such as money laundering or drug trafficking.
"The message then asks you to press '1' to speak to an investigator. These calls and text messages are fraudulent.
"Do not engage or share personal information. I want to make it perfectly clear that the Department of Social Welfare will never call you to ask you for your PPS number or bank details."
The 083 number
The spike in scams since the outbreak of the pandemic is continuing, with hundreds of people being affected last week.
Gardai have said that there has been a "continual increase" of cases involving an elaborate phishing scam that has proven to be popular among thieves.
In terms of what it involves, criminals are making bogus phone calls and sending fake text messages to individuals whereby they're pretending to be a member of An Garda Síochána or the Department of Social Protection.
The increased popularity and prevalence of this scam has prompted the Department of Social Welfare to issue a warning, which said: "Customers and members of the public are reminded about scam phone calls and scam text messages they may receive from individuals purporting to be an official of the Department.
