More than €640,000 was stolen through phishing, vishing and smishing crimes in 2020, while the number of fraudulent scams of bank customers increased more than three-fold during the first week of February when compared with the previous two years.
These scams are becoming more prevalent due to the increased numbers of people online and the increasingly sophisticated methods employed by criminals, anSome 45 incidents of this fraudulent activity were recorded by gardaí during the first week of February compared to just 13 incidents for the same period in both 2019 and 2020. More than €640,000 was stolen in this manner in 2020 including a case where one customer lost €53,000, said an Garda.
Gardaí underlined that scammers target people of all ages, noting that 19 of the 45 cases recorded during the first week of February were among people younger than 50. The youngest victim was 17-years-old while the oldest was 88, according to Garda data. It noted that banks never request a customer return a card to the bank in such circumstances and advised people to be wary of cold calls. “Just because the number looks Irish does not mean it is,” said an Garda. “Fraudsters use VOIP numbers.”