Tag Archives: scam

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 …

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 …

GARDAÍ in Clare have issued a warning to the public after a number of people were victims of scams. Last Tuesday, April 27, at 12 noon a gentleman received a phone call from a person claiming to be from the office of the Attorney General and alleging that he had been involved in money laundering. The caller asked him to transfer a sum of money to an account. It was after he did this that he realised this was a scam. In a separate incident a lady received a phone call from a person pretending to be from her bank and telling her that her account has been used for money laundering. She was asked to transfer her money to another account which she unfortunately did. Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks also outlines that there have also been reports of people getting calls from an 083 number claiming to be from the Department of Social Protection. The recipients of …

GARDAÍ and the Department of Social Protection are advising the public to be aware of fraudulent phone calls and texts requesting their personal data. Gardaí say they are aware of a recent scam where members of the public have been receiving phone calls and texts from persons fraudulently advising they are a named official of the Department of Social Protection and being advised 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 would like to advise members of the public to be wary of such calls and; • Do not engage with the caller or return the call • Never share personal information data with such callers or with people who make contact by text • A member of An Garda Siochana or a Department of Social …

THE face of Ennis journalist and television presenter Colm Flynn is being used by scam artists to target victims on Facebook, it has emerged. Colm, who is currently based in Rome and working as the Vatican correspondent for a global news network, has warned people to beware of the scam which is being used to obtain people’s credit card details. While the fraudsters have used the name ‘Colm Fllyn’ for the Facebook page, they have used a number of photographs of the real Colm alongside many videos of his various television reports in order to make the page seem legitimate. Under the profile photograph the page states it belongs to the “broadcaster from Ireland based in Rome, Italy! I love people and their stories.” The page goes on to state that ‘Colm’ wants to share his joy with followers on Facebook by randomly choosing somebody to win €1,000. It then urges people to follow a separate link to enter a …

GARDAÍ in Clare have issued warnings about various scams currently in operation. The scams vary from fraudsters trying to find out bank account details to sending fake messages about the Covid-19 vaccine to gain personal information. Clare Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Triona Brooks has confirmed a number of incidents which have occurred in the county in recent times. “During the week a lady received a text purporting to be from her bank – she logged on and entered her account details and then realised that money had been taken from her account,” she said. Gardaí also received a report from a man in North Clare who received a phone call from a male with a foreign accent telling him that he needed to pay money so that his parcel from Amazon could be delivered. “Thankfully this man never ordered anything and terminated the phone call”, said Sergeant Brooks. While another lady received a phone call to say that her Amazon …

CLARE people and businesses are being advised by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau to be mindful of a new startup of Revenue Scam calls, which have occurred regularly in the past. A garda spokesperson explains, “The potential victim receives a phone call from a appears to be an ‘051’ number, similar to a Waterford landline number. These are what are known as Voip numbers – computer generated numbers. “The caller will try to acquire the personal information/data or bank details of the potential victim. This attempt can vary but it is usually the following examples; a tax refund is due or immediate payment for a tax bill is required, sometimes to avoid a criminal prosecution The caller will then ask for the potential victims credit/debit card or bank account details. “The Revenue scam in the past has also used both email and text message as a way of contacting potential victims, this will undoubtedly occur again this time.” The …

AN elderly woman was scammed by two bogus tradesmen in Ennis last week, with gardaí appealing to anybody who may have seen them to contact them. Last Tuesday at 12.20pm two men called to the home of the elderly lady on Considine Road. They told her that her attic needed to be insulated and asked could they go up and have a look. The lady showed them the attic opening and when they came down they said that it would cost a substantial amount of money to do the job. She gave them some of the money and they then said they would need the rest before they did the job. She left and went to the credit union and these two males waited outside for her to return, when she did they took the money from her and left. These males were seen in the area in a white van with roof ladders on the top between 12.20 and …