Irish presenter Sarah McInerney, who hosts on RTE's Drivetime, opened up on falling victim to a simple mobile phone scam as thieves attempted to gain access to her bank account.
The presenter explained she received an alarming text about her eFlow toll, an Irish tolling system operator, account and was encouraged to enter her bank details after clicking a link in the message.
She realised her mistake within minute but it was too late and scammers had already attempted to access her bank account.
Speaking about the scam on RTE's Drivetime, she said: "It's not like we're not warned about this, we get the emails from our banks warning us not to click on links - and yet we do! Including myself.
"Last night I clicked on a link and it made me realise I think there's a weakness in the system. I clicked on a link and I entered way too many details because I was eating my dinner and watching a programme and also scrolling on my phone at the same time - the opposite of mindfulness.
"I clicked on this link for eFlow, saying I hadn't filled out the terms and conditions to allow my account to continue, and I sort of absent-mindedly was putting in information and then realised I had put in the registration for my bank and the personal access code.
"And when I clicked send on the personal access code I realised, 'What am I doing?' and I tried to close the window but it was too late."
Sarah tried to call her bank but because the incident took place after 5pm, she was unable to get through and she struggled to find information online about what to do.
The presenter later go through to an advisor in credit card fraud who instructed her to input her access codes incorrectly six different times in order to lock her online banking account.
But, in the 15 minutes it took for Sarah to close down her online bank account, the scammer had added a mobile number to the account and attempted to make a few transactions.
Niamh Davenport, Head of Financial Crime with the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland advised: "The fraudsters are really quick and they are waiting for somebody to respond with their information and they are going to act on it straight away.
"With any type of scam, one of the key things I'd always say is time is of the essence and to report it to your bank as quickly as possible.
"The banks do have that [credit card fraud] number 24/7 and you can use that number if you feel you've handed over your bank account details. The other way is you can freeze your card on your mobile banking app."
