SOPHISTICATED TEXT SCAM DOING THE ROUNDS - BEWARE
A sophisticated text scam is doing the rounds, that could catch even the most astute. While publicised on social media, it has also already been reported by at least one bank staff member locally.
It goes like this: you will receive a text from an unknown number, pretending to be from one of your children.
“Hi mam, this is Marian texting off of Tracey’s phone. I’ve lost mine. I need to buy a new phone online but I can’t authorise the payment as my old phone is getting the notifications.”
Sounds plausible, right? The scammers will use Facebook or Instagram to see what terms you use - in this case ‘ mam’, but there is at least one case of the scammer using a nickname that the family use; they got this information off of Facebook.
At this point a lot of people will send their ‘daughter’ their card details, or worse still, send a picture of the front and back of the card.
Advice in this case is to give the number a quick call and see if it is in fact the person you think it is!
FRAUD WEEK CAMPAIGN
Online and text scams are getting more and more sophisticated, so no one need feel foolish for being taken in. It is an unfortunate fact of life that there will always be unpleasant people ready to take someone’s money and trust, but if in doubt, just don’t reply or engage with the text.
If for any reason you think you have been a victim of a scam or theft, people are advised to contact both their bank and their local Garda station.
This week the Gardaí are running their annual Fraud Week campaign to inform and advise the public on common and sophisticated online scams. Earlier this week they announced that in 2021 almost €6 million was stolen from companies based in Ireland, down 48% on 2020. However, with an increase in remote working the Gardaí are reminding people to remain alert.