The Department of Social Protection has issued a warning over a phishing scam which targets people by text.
The Department said it has become aware that some members of the public have received text messages on their mobile phones from an unknown number, purporting to be from the Department.
These text messages contain web links which the member of the public is told to click on. These web links are made to look similar to the actual web addresses of Departmental sites.
When a person clicks on the link in such text messages, they are brought to a site that has been specifically crafted to look exactly like the Department’s MyWelfare or MyGovID web sites. The person is then asked to provide their Name, PPSN and Bank Account details.
These are sophisticated scams. People are being urged to be cautious when managing claims online and to ensure that they are using official Departmental websites.
The real website addresses for MyWelfare.ie and MyGovID services are:
www.mywelfare.ie or https://www.mywelfare.ie or https://services.mywelfare.ie
www.mygovid.ie or https://www.mygovid.ie
A statement said: “The Department urges customers and the public to be extra vigilant and only use one of the above URLs when wishing to access either MyWelfare or MyGovID websites.
“Please do not click on or reply to links which appear suspicious, or are not one of the above links.
“The Department of Social Protection wishes to make it absolutely clear that we NEVER request Bank account or other Financial institution account details from our customers by SMS or on social media. Neither do we clarify or check this information over the phone.
“The Department wants to ensure that our customers and the public are made aware of this scam activity and that they keep their bank and other financial account information safe.
“When the Department becomes aware of phishing sites it takes this very seriously and makes every effort to have these sites removed as quickly as possible.
“Anyone who thinks they provided personal information in response to these fraudulent text messages should contact their bank immediately.”
