A convincing scam doing the rounds is attempting to steal people's information by getting them to sign up for a fake energy support scheme.
Amid the cost of living crisis, the Government have put in place a number of temporary energy support measures last winter - a lot of which have since expired. The scam, therefore, comes at a perfect time to prey on unsuspecting victims.
The scam text reads: "gov ie: You are eligible for a discounted electricity bill under the Energy support scheme. You can apply here: https://register-health-pcr.com/."
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Upon clicking the link, a convincing-looking dupe of Gov.ie comes up, with information about the energy support scheme and a big red button at the bottom asking you to verify your information. By clicking the button, you're brought to a page asking you for your full name, address, Eircode, phone number, and email.
But the signs of a dupe are there - as well as the fake URL, the hyperlinks on the page do not work, and the verify button is in a different style and colour to the rest of the page. It comes after the Dublin Credit Unions group have issued an urgent warning to their members over a phishing scam made to trick people into handing over their personal details.
Credit Union members have received phone calls and texts in recent weeks that dupe the receiver into believing there is a problem with their account, resulting them in handing over private information.
Speaking on behalf of Dublin Credit Unions, Core Credit Union membership officer Jennifer Bowe told Dublin Live that financial institution will "never contact an individual member by phone, text, or email asking them to click a link to verify their account or give personal account details over the phone".
"All the scams have been going on for a good while now but Credit Unions seem to have been targeted over the last few weeks," she explained. "The messages being sent out are trying to get people to click on a link and give their personal details.
"All of us at Dublin Credit Unions are trying to spread the word to Credit Union members in Dublin about this."
Ms Bowe explained that the most common scams they have seen involves a fraudster sending a text message and/or making a phone call claiming to be from a credit union and informing the recipient that their credit union account has been put on hold or locked.
Recipients are then asked to click a link to a cloned credit union website and enter their personal details to verify their account, or they are asked for their personal details over the phone.
"However, there are many different types of scams out there," Ms Bowe said. "If a member of the public is in any doubt about any message that they receive in relation to their credit union account, they should contact their Credit Union immediately.
"If a member of the public does receive such a call, text message, or email they are advised not to give any account details to the caller or to click on the link under any circumstances."
She added that members can receive more information about such phishing scams on the Dublin Credit Union group's social media.
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