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Tag Archives: fraud

Scams ‘top of policing agenda’ says Clare’s garda chief

SCAM and fraud prevention are top of the policing agenda, Clare’s most senior Garda has pledged.  Chief Superintendent Seán Colleran made that commitment after telling the Joint Policing Committee (JPC) that incidents of fraud and economic crime have more than doubled in recent times. Figures released by the Chief show an increase of 110% in such crimes over the three months from November to January, when compared to the same period last year.  The revelation coincided with a letter to the JPC from Clare Older People’s Council who raised concerns about a spate of scam calls. JPC administrator Karen Fennessy said the organisation was looking for advice from Gardaí and that the calls were causing “great stress and upset”.  Superintendent John Galvin agreed the problem is widespread and he appealed to people not to open suspicious text messages in particular. “We are looking into all aspects of this issue,’ he said. “It’s a national and international problem. A lot of …

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TD warns over ‘Revenue’ scam calls

SCAM calls coming for “plausible looking” numbers are being highlighted by Clare’s Independent TD.  Deputy Michael McNamara said he is aware of two situations, in recent days, where people received a call from scammers purporting to be from Revenue. “In one case, a constituent got a call from what appeared to the a Clare number,” he outlined. “When the constituent asked him what part of the county he was calling from, he became abusive and hung up. In another situation, a young professional received a call from a Dublin number, again from someone looking for a funds transfer to Revenue. When that person Googled the number, a Court Service number appeared. They were so worried they actually transferred the money. You can imagine how vulnerable older people could be to these scams.” The Scariff-based TD said the facility of scammers to make numbers appear official, is a matter of concern. “These people are clearly able to appropriate numbers to make …

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Fraud warning after rental scam in Clare

A WOMAN was scammed out of over €1,700 while trying to rent a property she saw online, Clare gardaí have confirmed. This is one of a number of economic frauds that have been reported to gardaí prompting Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks to advise would-be renters to be alert for potential scams. Sergeant Brooks said the woman saw a property to rent on Daft, and began a WhatsApp conversation with the person purporting to be the landlord. “She was requested to pay €1,742 into his account which she did. This advertisement has since been removed from Daft and she can’t contact the landlord,” Sergeant Brooks explains. The crime prevention officer urged, “Don’t be tricked into paying a deposit for a property that does not exist or has already been rented.” She advised “Do your homework – look at the average rent price in the area and if the rent is unusually low and it seems too good to …

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People falling for scams ‘on daily basis’, warns Clare garda

PEOPLE of all ages and all walks of life are falling victim to fraud on a daily basis, Clare gardaí have warned. Victims of suspected scams are being urged to contact their local garda station, with assurances that they will be treated with total confidentiality. This comes as reports of yet more frauds operating in the county have come to light. Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks outlines a number of incidences during which members of the public were targeted by fraudsters and money was taken from bank accounts. “Unfortunately, again this week a number of people have been the victim of scams One lady got a text from internet banking saying that there had been unusual activity on her account. She followed a link and then realised that two fraudulent transactions on her account. “Two more people got a phone call from a male purporting to be from Amazon saying that their accounts had been compromised and that …

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Ennis victim of ‘advance fee’ scam

AN Ennis woman paid out more than €1,600 to scammers in the latest incident of ‘advance fee fraud’ to be reported to gardaí in the county. Fraudsters are using this scam to target vulnerable people and those who have difficulty getting loans from established financial institutions, Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks explains. She is urging Clare people to never apply for a loan from an entity that is not authorised by the Central Bank. Sergeant Brooks confirmed that gardaí received a report of this fraud after a woman in Ennis applied for a loan on-line from a site purporting to be a legitimate loan site. “She was informed that the loan had been granted and asked to pay €699 to guarantee the loan which she paid into a Revolut account. A short time later she received a call from a person looking for a further deposit to pay for administration fees and she then paid €950 into the …

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Bank warns of fake text messages in ‘smishing’ attempts

BANK of Ireland has issued a warning to the public advising extra caution around fraudulent text messages in circulation this week.  There has been a spike in ‘smishing’, where fraudsters send fake text messages, which appear to come from Bank of Ireland, and direct customers to fake websites imitating Bank of Ireland websites.  Since last month, the number of new ‘phishing’ websites detected by Bank of Ireland’s Fraud Prevention team has doubled, with an unprecedented increase in activity in the last week and up to 20 new fraudulent sites appearing per day. Bank of Ireland advice to customers in response to the current activity: Do not click on links or to respond to SMS text messages, which are designed to appear as if sent by the bank and look like originating from a genuine phone number. Bank of Ireland will never send you a text with a link to a website that asks you for your online banking login details …

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Gardai warn of PPS phone scam

GARDAÍ are urging the public to spread the word of fraud prevention as people continue to fall victim to scams on a daily basis. In recent days Gardaí have received reports nationwide relating to automated scam phone calls. The recipient is called and advised via a recorded message that An Garda Síochána is investigating them in relation to suspicious activity linked to their PPS number. In order to rectify the situation the recipient is then advised to press a number to speak to someone further in relation to the matter. These scam calls are mainly coming from numbers with the 087 prefix. On receipt of these communications, the advice of An Garda Síochána is as follows: • Do not engage with the caller. • Do not return the call. • Do not follow the automated instructions – Do not press 1 etc. • Never disclose personal or financial information. • Hang up and block the number if possible. Whilst the …

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Intimate blackmail prompts garda warning

CLARE people looking for romance online are being warned to be careful not just with their heart, but with their personal information, as details have emerged that a young man was blackmailed by fraudsters. The man had exchanged a series of texts including images with someone he understood to be a woman, however a demand was then made for money otherwise the images would be put online. Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks outlined that the young man had been on an online dating app, but he later provided his personal mobile phone number to the person he had linked with on the app. “A series of texts containing pictures and videos were exchanged. A demand was made for a sum of money to be paid or the pictures and videos would be posted on-line,” she said. She has offered some tips to help others not to fall for a romance scam. “Trust your instincts – if you think …

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