SCAMS MAY BE particularly prevalent this week as new customs charges for the delivery of goods delivered outside the EU come into force, experts have warned.

The charges, which will apply from Wednesday, see a €3 fee applied to deliveries under €150 shipped from outside the bloc.

The European Commission says the move is to stem a surge in low-value packages, mainly from China.

Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud Protection at the Bank of Ireland, told The Journal that scammers may be particularly active in the coming days.

She warned people to beware of communications such as text messages demanding customs charges that appear to be from a legitimate source. 

“It can be SMS, but also an SMS containing a number. The scammers encourage [the customer] to call the number in the SMS, and essentially the customer is talking to the scam call centre.

“They may believe that it’s either a legitimate company or their bank.”

Scams can also be in the form of a text message asking you to click on a link.

Sadlier described how a scam might work and what buyers should look out for.

“It depends on the payment or the website, but typically it looks very generic. 

“The scam web pages would look to collect as much personal information as possible. 

“Customers will be targeted to share information, proceed with the payment, and fraudulently lose their money.”

She described a recent scam where a fraudulent website purporting to be from eFlow, which collects motorway toll charges, seeks car registration numbers.

“The customer thinks they’re on an eFlow website. They feel like they’re paying a charge. It’s collecting their car reg, so it all looks normal. 

“Then you would be brought to a page that looks similar to Bank of Ireland [for example] and you would be asked for your online credentials.”

Sadlier said that this process continues, and sometimes the website says the log in has failed, and customers are asked to provide the code to log in again.

Customers can be asked to add their card number, expiry date, or CVV. Once someone’s card information is disclosed, the scammers can make purchases from people’s accounts.

Bank of Ireland is urging people to be “extra vigilant” of scam messages with the introduction of the new charges in the coming days.

It advises contacting the seller directly using details from the official website, and to “stop, think and check before you click.”

Sadlier is also recommended customers to have ‘spending alert’ notifications from your banking app on, and to contact the bank if any fraud is suspected. 

The new fees will be imposed in every EU member state and will not only raise the cost of orders, but also impact the returns process, as the charge is non-refundable. 

The charges will apply if the package reaches Ireland after 30 June.

Orders entering Ireland from Northern Ireland will be exempt from charges, but orders from the rest of the UK will not.

The consumer watchdog also warned last week of an increase in scams - in particular, any texts that come from An Post or Revenue. It said that charges will never be paid directly by consumers to Revenue Commissioners or An Post.

The watchdog also warned against texts from scammers posing as delivery services.