Fraud prevention advice from An Garda Síochána

1. Be very wary of any unsolicited phone calls or voicemails.

2. Never disclose personal information until you have confirmed that the caller is a genuine representative of the organisation they claim to represent. This can be done by following a number of steps:

Take the caller’s number and advise them that you will call them back once you have confirmed their identity. Look up the organisation’s phone number yourself and make contact directly with them to confirm. Do not confirm the caller by using a phone number they have given you. This could be a false number. If the caller is genuine, they will understand and welcome your need to confirm their identity and the organisation’s identity.

3. Do not respond to a text messages seeking financial, personal or security information unless you have independently verified that the text came from the company it claims to be from.

4. Fraudsters may already have basic information about you in their possession, for example your name, address, account details. Do not assume a caller is genuine because they have these details or because they claim to represent an organisation you deal with.

5. Be aware that it takes two people to end a phone call. Use a different phone (another family member’s phone) to independently verify the caller’s identity.

6. Your bank or the gardaí will never ask for the following:

Your credit or debit card PIN number or full online banking password. Request you to withdraw money to hand over to them or transfer money to another account, even if they say it is in your name. Come to your home to collect your cash, payment card or cheque book.

7. Do not allow yourself to be rushed. Take your time and carry out the relevant checks to satisfy yourself that the phone call or text message is genuine.

8. Hang up. If you feel harassed or intimidated, or if the caller talks over you without giving you a chance to speak, end the call. It may feel rude to hang up on someone, but you have the right not to be pressured into anything.

Techniques used by fraudsters:

1. Persuasion: Even if you are familiar with technology, fraudsters are smooth talkers and communicate in a confident manner.

2. Urgency: Fraudsters use fear/shock tactics pressuring you into thinking you must act quickly as your money is in danger.

3. Personal information: This can be found on your social media profile or bought from hacked company data.

4. Environment: Fraudsters can have sound effects playing to give the impression that they are in a call centre.

5. Phone spoofing: Phone numbers can be faked to hide the origin of the call. Fraudsters use technology to mimic an official telephone number so it comes up on your caller ID display. This can trick you into thinking the caller is really from a legitimate organisation, such as a bank or utility company. If you’re in any doubt, hang up and call the organisation directly. If possible, call them from different phone as scammers can keep the phone line open, so that even if you hang up and call the organisation directly, the line may still be connected to the fraudster. If it is not possible to use another phone then wait for at least 10 minutes before you call.