GARDAÍ AND BANK Of Ireland are warning the public of a ‘smishing’ scam in which people receive a text, appearing to come from their bank, leading them to believe their bank card has been compromised. 

The fraudulent text states that the customer’s card has been skimmed and subsequently deactivated by the bank. The person is then asked to follow a link to a false Bank of Ireland website in order to follow steps to obtain a new bank card. 

These steps request that the customers cut their bank card in a specific way and send it by post to the specified address. They also lead the customer to submit their card number, pin and phone number to the fraudulent website. 

Once these details have been obtained, along with the card, the fraudster can access the customer’s account, make withdrawals and make online purchases. 

A number of reports have been received by gardaí in relation to this scam. 

The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) carried out searches today at addresses in Dublin in relation to this matter. 

A number of bank cards were recovered during the course of these searches and returned to their owners. 

A male youth was arrested and is currently detained in Tallaght Garda Station under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. 

The GNECB is advising the public of the following: 

• Never click a link in an unsolicited text
• Never give away personal data like your pin, card numbers and passwords
• A financial institution would never request a customer to return a card to the bank in such circumstances

An Garda Síochána are also urging people not to respond to such text messages, but instead to take a screenshot of the message, delete it and report it to their local garda station.