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A NEW AND elaborate scam has arrived in Ireland and gardaí are warning the public to beware as victims have been duped out of tens of thousands of euro already.
The fraudsters call landline numbers and pretend they work as a security manager for what has been described by gardaí as a “well-known high-end” store. They tell the person someone has tried to use their card in the store and advises them to either call their bank or, in some cases, their local garda station.
The victims hang up but the scammer remains on the line and when the victim dials the new number they pretend to be either a bank employee or a garda. Victims are then encouraged to disclose bank account details and some have even been convinced by a person purporting to be from their bank to transfer their money out of the account and into another.
Over 30 members of the public have made contact with the retailer concerned to say they have been the victims of this scam.
Targeting older people
Garda Detective Inspector John Foody today told reporters that a number of people have been scammed out of sums ranging between €7,000 and €38,000 in one case. He said many of those who fell victim to the fraudsters were older people.
The accounts the money was transferred into have been traced to the United Kingdom and Indonesia which makes it unlikely the victims will get their money back.
It is not know where exactly the group is operating from. However gardaí believe they are using a phonebook to select numbers as there is an alphabetical pattern with the victims’ names.
Don’t fall victim to the scammers
The scam has only been running for about two weeks and this type of fraud, called ‘vishing’ is new to Ireland but Foody said the fraudsters are “still at it”. Gardaí want to make the public aware of it so they can avoid becoming victims.
This is their advice:
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