The public has been warned of the scam by FraudSmart, the fraud awareness initiative led by Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).
FraudSmart’s head of financial crime Niamh Davenport said cases of this scam are on the rise and victims are being conned out of an average of between €6,000 and €8,000.
“The scam is particularly deceptive and unfolds through a number of convincing text messages and phone calls. Victims initially receive a text message impersonating their bank, falsely alerting them to a ‘new’ direct debit that has been set up on their bank account,” she said.
“The text message advises that if they didn’t set up this direct debit, they should call the phone number in the text message immediately.
“This mimics the style of legitimate messages we might expect from banks or service providers when changes are made to our accounts, making it seem more convincing.
“However, banks will never include phone numbers for customers to ring within a text message.”
Five ways to protect yourself from scams have been issued by FraudSmart:
l Do not reply to unsolicited text messages or provide personal or financial information.
l Do not use phone numbers provided within the text of a text message. Contact your bank using the number on the back of your debit/credit card.
l Do not click on a link from unsolicited text messages – remember your bank will never send you a link in a text message.
l If someone is pressurising you on the phone to take urgent action, hang up and call the number on the bank of your debit/credit card.
l Never give away personal information, bank card payment details, bank account details or security details such as your PIN or online password to anyone.
“If the victim calls the number in the text message they are told that they are speaking to the bank’s fraud department, but are in fact speaking directly to the fraudster,” Ms Davenport said.
“They are advised that their account is at risk and, in order to protect their money, they have to transfer their funds and close their account.
“They are asked to open their banking app or desktop account while on the call, set up a new payee or ‘safe account’ using an Iban provided by the fraudster and transfer their money into this new account, which the fraudster in fact controls.
“This is often followed by a text message ‘confirming’ that the new Iban will be processed in 24 hours, along with details of the amount transferred and a fake ‘lodgment reference’, in order to further persuade the victim that it’s legitimate and also delay detection.”
Anyone who thinks they have responded to a scam text or phone call has been advised to contact their bank and gardaí.
FraudSmart has issued a reminder that your bank will never ask you to transfer money from your account into a “safe account” or any other type of account.
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Publish date : 2024-10-22 17:31:00
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