People in Donegal have lost thousands of euro in recent phone scams, gardaí report.
The latest scams have involved fake bank calls and fake calls from Amazon.
Gardaí have released details of some cases in the Donegal division to help people be more aware of what to watch out for.
In one case, a Donegal man received a text message that appeared to be from his Bank. The text message contained a link. He clicked on the link and provided the details requested of him. He was soon at a loss of over €2,500 from his bank account.
Another reported incident involved a woman who got a phonecall from an Irish landline number and the caller informed her that they were calling from Amazon in relation to the re-subscription charge. The recipient of the call informed the caller that she did not have an Amazon account and they then instructed her to download an app in order to be refunded for any money she had already paid. She did so and almost €500 was taken from her bank account a short time later. She had not provided any bank details, she had simply downloaded an app at the caller’s request.
A person lost €300 after receiving a call from someone who stated that they were conducting a security check on behalf of the bank. The recipient of the call provided the caller with her details including her PIN number for her bank account. Almost €300 was taken from her bank account a short time later.
Another bank scam saw a person receiving a text message from a bank to say that there had been a fraudulent transaction detected on her account. She ignored the text message but then got a call from someone who stated that they were calling on behalf of her bank. They asked her to confirm her personal details which she provided the caller with and her bank account was then debited by £250 stlg a short time later.
Garda Grainne Doherty said: “Our advice is to not trust every text message/email or phone call that you receive. Fraudsters are skilled at deception. They can drop a fake text message into an sms thread and make it look like it’s from a Bank or organisation you trust. They can also make their call look like it is from a genuine number also.”
Top Tips:
- Never disclose your personal or financial details to anybody no matter who they say they are or why they say they need them.
- Never click on a link on an unsolicited email or text message.
- Do not download an app/apps onto your phone or PC at the request of a caller regardless of who they say they are.
- If you are in doubt, contact the Bank/organisation in question via a verified contact method.
- Please do contact gardaí if you have fallen victim to a scam of any sort.
Gda Doherty added: “We know that this advice seems repetitive but unfortunately some people are still being scammed. We would urge people to please advise family or friends who may be vulnerable in relation to scams.”
