Gardai have issued a warning to the public this afternoon amid reports of a fraud ring operating in Ireland targeting bank accounts.
According to officers, the scammers are using third parties to enable the fraud which is occurring via SMS/texts.
The messages appear legitimate and from a genuine bank with the initials of the branch they’re purporting to be from appearing in a link.
When the victim clicks on the link, they’re asked to enter their personal details including their phone number, and then are asked to log in to their account.
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The fraudster monitors the login and recovers all of the personal details, including the login number, password, and security code.
They then call, pretending to be from the fraud department of the bank, and convince the victim that their account is compromised and that their bank card is required by the bank for ‘forensic testing’ or some other reason.
They then say that the bank will send out a 3rd party to collect the card, and you will be advised to put the card in an envelope and write the pin number on the outside.
They must then hand it to the 3rd party on arrival, while the fraudster will frequently be on the phone with the victim as the 3rd party arrives to encourage the handover of the envelope.
The innocent third party may have also been contacted via an app or other social media to collect the envelope from the victim and deliver it to an agreed location, usually near a bank.
They will be met by a person on foot who will take possession of the card, which is then used to withdraw cash and transfer funds out of the victim's account.
This fraud has resulted in the theft of very significant sums of money from the victim's bank accounts.
In a statement released by an Garda Siochana today, their advice is:
- Never CLICK on links in an unsolicited text message.
- Never give away your PIN number or ONE TIME codes, or online banking details/passwords. Your bank will NEVER ask for these details
- NEVER act on advice or instruction received during an unsolicited call
- NEVER download an APP on the instruction from an unsolicited call
- NEVER hand over your Bank Card to a 3rd party
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