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Tag Archives: scams

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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Clare gardai warn of numerous online and phone scams in county

CLARE gardai have warned the public of a number of sophisticated scams in operation in the county at the moment and have appealed for vigilance. Crime prevention officer Sergeant Triona Brooks has highlighted a number of scams and provided advice on the proper way to respond to suspicious solicitations on the phone and online. One of the main examples of scams currently in operation is the so-called ‘Technical Support and Impersonation Scam’. Fraudsters set up fake customer support phone numbers and impersonate a variety of legitimate companies. These scam phone numbers are placed on the internet to attract unsuspecting victims seeking assistance from what they believe to be the legitimate company. The scammers who are skilled in social engineering have the ability to deceive and manipulate victims into providing their personal data. Gardai have also warned of giveaway/competition scams whereby the perpetrators use social media to advertise a fake giveaway. They post forged or fake screen shots of messages from …

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Garda warning on scams

AN elderly person in Shannon was tricked into parting with €3,000 to solve a non-existent problem on their computer. On Tuesday, April 10, the individual, in their late 70s, received a phone call from an unknown person, who told them that their computer had been hacked and corrupted. The caller then told them the situation could be rectified, if they provided iTunes vouchers to the value of €3,000. At this stage, the caller went and purchased six iTunes vouchers to the value of €500 each and passed on the codes to the caller. Also, on April 7 in the Sixmilebridge area, an elderly person was using a computer in their home when it crashed. A message appeared on the screen, asking them to call a number in the USA. When they did so, they were told that the problem could be fixed if credit card details were provided. These details were then provided and they were subsequently used fraudulently. Thankfully, …

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