Gardai have arrested a man aged in his 40s after a woman trying to purchase a home in Ireland was conned out of over €175,000.
According to officers, the incident occurred back in December 2020 when a woman based in Europe was conned out of the large sum of money while in the process of purchasing a home.
The fraudster was able to hack into her solicitor’s email and request the payment, which was later sent by the victim without realising it was a case of invoice redirection fraud.
In the days after the payment was made, the woman discovered that the email had been hacked and the bank number that was supplied was not that of the lawyer.
She reported the crime to the Gardaí, and officers attached to the GNECB looked into the claims with the banks and managed to retrieve all of the money.
This morning, a man was arrested in relation to the crime in the Tallaght area, and continues to be detained as investigations continue.
In a statement to the Irish Mirror, a Garda spokesperson said: “Personnel attached to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau have arrested a man, aged in his 40s, in the Tallaght area of Dublin this morning, 10th February, 2022.
“The arrest relates to an incident of invoice redirect fraud which occurred in December 2020. The GNECB received a report in which a person, who was living in Europe, was planning to purchase a residence in Ireland.
“During the process, they had received an email from their solicitor which requested payment.
“The victim subsequently sent a transfer in excess of €175,000 to the account number supplied.
“In the following days, it was discovered that the solicitor’s email address had been hacked and the bank number supplied was not belonging to this solicitor.
“GNECB made enquiries with the banks and successfully managed to freeze and retrieve all of the money, which was then returned to the victim.
“The man, who was arrested for an offence contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, is currently detained at Tallaght Garda Station.
“He can be detained for up to 7 days. Investigations are ongoing.”
