Ireland has been hit by scammers who are tricking people and business owners into parting with hundreds of thousands of euros. The ever-increasing group of sophisticated charlatans means that scams are becoming harder to spot, therefore easier to fall for.
Patrick D’Arcy, a former garda who has worked with the Garda Fraud Squad and who is now a director of forensic and investigation services with Grant Thornton states,
“Fraudsters use social media and the internet to get publicly available information about you – so that they can build up a sense of trust when they contact you,” said Niamh Davenport, fraud awareness and payment manager with the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI). “Telephone scams are becoming more sophisticated. There will be call centre noises in the background. If a fraudster rings pretending to be your bank, he will be aware of the wording used by banks and will use that language in the call.”
In some cases, millions of euro have been lost to scams. “Fraudsters research their client and know their target – so whatever kind of payment may seem plausible to an individual is the payment that’s sought,”
“If the fraudster is targeting a wealthy individual or company, he could be suggesting a payment of €10,000 or €20,000. Some payments sought can be into the millions.”
Summer Season Scams
The notorious 200€ holiday voucher is at the peak of summertime scams, if you are about to travel, or have just returned from holiday, you will no doubt be planning your next holiday and could see this as a way of paying for your next trip.
“The email might say that if you respond to the survey within a certain date, you’ll get a €200 voucher off your next flight with the airline,” said D’Arcy. “The questions on the survey will be questions that you’d expect an ordinary airline to ask you – but towards the end of the survey, you’ll be asked for your bank details and bank account password to facilitate payment of the voucher. It is the question about your bank details which should alert you to the fraud”.
Another all-time high scam is booking bogus accommodation websites and post fake adverts online. Thousands of people have lost millions after falling for such scams. The consumer only discovers they’ve been conned when they go on holiday and find the accommodation they have paid for doesn’t exist.
We at the TCA cannot stress enough the importance of doing research before parting with any cash, always book through reputable operators, check the company’s website and email address to ensure it hasn’t been altered slightly, and ALWAYS pay by credit card rather than bank transfer.
Phone scams
The most common telephone scam involves a call from someone claiming to be from your bank. These types of scams typically tell the consumer that there has been unusual activity within your account and that the bank is looking for you to transfer your money into a ‘safe’ account. Advising you to transfer immediately the money from your local bank branch and to this so-called ‘safe’ account. Once your money is transferred it’s highly unlikely you will ever see it again.
Email scams
In May of this year, three men were arrested as part of a Garda investigation. The scam was invoice redirection, more than €500,000 was stolen. One case alone was over €300,000. These monies were stolen from a Spanish company and redirected to an account in Ireland.
“Invoice redirection fraud usually happens when the fraudster has either hacked into your email – or hacked into a supplier’s email,” said Davenport. Invoice redirection fraud, which targets people in the workplace, is one of the most common types of email fraud. With invoice redirection fraud, a business gets a fraudulent email which claims to be from an existing supplier and advises that payment for future bills or invoices should go into a new bank account. If in doubt always contact the supplier and confirm sending the original email.
Direct Debit scams
“Another fraud which happens regularly is where fraudsters get your bank account and personal details and then set up a direct debit using your account details, thereby getting you to unknowingly pay for something for the conman”, said D’Arcy.
“To prevent this type of fraud, regularly check your credit card and bank statements – so that you quickly spot any unusual transactions on your account,” said D’Arcy. “Also, avoid putting any paperwork with personal details into your recycling bin – as fraudsters can get your details in this way.”
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk