FOUR OUT OF FIVE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TARGETED BY FRAUDSTERS IN THE LAST YEAR
Four in five people in Ireland have been targeted by fraudsters within the last year, having received either a text, call or e-mail they believed to be fraudulent. New research from AIB also reveals that those over the age of 55 were more likely to be targeted by fraudsters, with 85% of this age group reporting that they have received some form of fraudulent communication within the last year.
However, customers across all age categories are still being targeted by fraudsters, with 80% of those between the ages of 18-34 reporting that they have received a fraudulent communication in the past year.
The research also revealed that: 33% of people received a fraudulent communication from a bank or financial institution they were not a customer of, while 30% received a fraudulent communication claiming to be a technology company. 22% of people have received a fraudulent text message claiming to be from the Revenue Commissioners;
Encouragingly, the research shows that 98% of people do not respond to fraudulent communications such as text, calls or e-mails, however vigilance and awareness is still vital as 2% is still a high number of people compared to the overall population. 63% of people ignored the fraudulent text, call or email, while 16% reported it to their bank. 11% consulted with a family member to see if it was fraudulent, while 2% replied to the communication as they thought it was genuine.
Overall, people have a good awareness of how to protect themselves against fraud, with 86% of people being aware that their bank will never text them a link, while 77% are aware that a fraudulent message can appear among genuine messages from their bank, using a method known as ‘smishing’.
Last year fraud losses on Irish consumers’ credit and debit cards amounted to €22 million, according to industry data.
The research comes as AIB is warning customers to be aware of the signs of fraud in order to protect themselves and to prevent fraudsters from stealing their money.