Clare people fall foul of fraudsters on Facebook and phone

GARDAI have reported two incidences in the past week of Clare people falling foul of fraudsters on the phone and the internet.

In the first instance, a woman logged into a Facebook page that was offering cheap flights.

She gave her details on this page and was subsequently contacted by a male caller from a UK phone number.

This individual purported to be from the travel search engine Skyscanner and engaged with her in relation to flights to Turkey.

She made a transaction for a flight through her Revolut account, via a Transfergo app, but has since realised that this was a fake page.

Her money appears to have been routed to unknown persons in India.

In another incident, a woman was contacted by a man with a foreign accent purporting to be from Eircom.

He informed her that her router had been hacked into by a criminal gang in the USA and her e-mail and online banking had been hacked.

The caller asked her to log into her online bank account while he was on the phone which she did, giving him access to her passcodes.

After a lengthy time on the phone the woman became suspicious and hung up, but then realised a substantial amount of money had been taken from her account.

Gardaí have also been made aware of a recent scam in which members of the public have been receiving phone calls and texts from persons purporting to be from the Department of Social Protection.

The fraudsters have been telling people their PPS number has been compromised.

The person receiving the call is then requested to verify their name, PPS number, and, in some cases, bank account details.

This personal data will then be used by the persons calling for fraudulent purposes.

Gardaí have asked that members of the public to be wary of such calls and advised the following.

Do not engage with the caller or return the call and never share personal information data with such callers or with people who make contact by text.

They say a member of An Garda Síochána or a Department of Social Protection employee would never request bank account details or personal data in a cold call or text and would never advise a member of the public to move money from their account or to purchase cryptocurrency or move their money anywhere to keep it safe.

If you believe you have received such a phone call or text contact your bank and the Department’s helpline number 1890 800 024 (between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday) and take a note of the number and report the matter to your local Garda Station.

 – By Kevin Corbett