Dublin: An Indian nurse living in Blackrock, Dublin, has reported losing approximately €46,000 from her AIB account after a series of unauthorised transactions were carried out over several weeks.
The woman, who has been working as a nurse in Ireland for the past three years, had accumulated her savings in her AIB account. She generally transferred only the money needed for her daily expenses from AIB to Revolut and therefore did not routinely check the balance or transaction history of her AIB account.
It is understood that this may have allowed the suspected fraud to continue undetected for several weeks.
Around 160 Transactions
The manner in which the money was taken has raised particular concern. Rather than transferring the entire amount in a single transaction, the funds were moved in numerous small and large transactions over a period of time.
According to the transaction records, approximately 160 separate transactions were made. Money was transferred to accounts belonging to different individuals, while other payments were made to hotels and major retail and business establishments, including Brown Thomas.
The pattern has raised questions about whether the woman’s account was being used not only to transfer money to other accounts but also to make direct purchases.
AIB Message and OTP Under Investigation
The woman recalls an earlier incident in which her AIB account was temporarily not functioning. Around that time, she received a message purporting to be from AIB and was asked to provide an OTP to reactivate the account.
She provided the OTP and says that her account subsequently appeared to function normally, leaving her with no immediate reason to suspect that anything was wrong.
Following the discovery of the fraud, however, questions have arisen over whether the security information was subsequently used to gain access to the account or alter its security controls.
A particularly serious aspect of the case is that a €7,000 loan was also reportedly taken out in the woman’s name through her account, with the loan application subsequently approved by AIB.
Fraud Discovered After Account Fell Into Negative Balance
The woman discovered the problem only weeks later when she attempted to transfer money from her AIB account to Revolut.
Instead of finding the expected savings, she discovered that the account had a negative balance of approximately €60.
She then examined her transaction history and realised that large portions of her savings had been transferred out of the account in stages during the previous month.
The woman immediately contacted AIB and the Gardaí. However, because the suspected fraud involved numerous transactions carried out at different times, identifying the destination of the funds and establishing the full sequence of events required further investigation.
Garda Investigation Accelerated
The woman initially reported the matter at Blackrock Garda Station. She was subsequently advised to return at a later stage as the Garda who had initially dealt with the complaint was on leave.
Concerned after losing a substantial portion of her savings, she sought assistance from local councillor Thomas Joseph, who helped bring the matter to the attention of senior Gardaí.
Following his intervention, the case was brought to the attention of a Garda superintendent, and the investigation was expedited. Assistance was also sought from specialist units dealing with financial fraud and computer and internet-related crime.
Investigators began examining the bank transactions individually in an effort to establish how the funds had been moved and where they had ultimately gone.
AIB Re-examines Transactions
AIB subsequently carried out a further review of the transactions reported by the customer as unauthorised.
It is understood that, following its examination, the bank returned to the woman’s account the amount it determined had been lost through the unauthorised transactions.
While the reimbursement has provided significant relief to the nurse, questions remain about how a large number of unusual transactions could continue over several weeks without being detected or triggering sufficient security intervention.
Among the issues being examined are when the suspected fraudsters first gained access to the account, how they were able to continue making transactions, and why the activity did not result in an earlier warning to the customer.
Gardaí and Banks Warn Against Sharing Security Details
The case highlights the continuing risks posed by financial scams in which criminals attempt to obtain customers’ security information.
Gardaí and financial institutions in Ireland have repeatedly warned customers never to disclose one-time passwords (OTPs), passwords, PINs or other security verification details to anyone claiming to represent a bank or financial institution.
There have also been previous cases in Ireland involving criminals gaining access to victims’ banking or financial accounts and using other accounts as intermediaries to move stolen funds.
In a Dublin court case in 2025, for example, a doctor was reportedly contacted by individuals claiming to represent Revolut before access was gained to the doctor’s account. Court documents showed that €11,000 was subsequently transferred to two separate accounts.
Irish banks have also warned customers about scams in which fraudsters falsely claim that money must first be transferred to another account for security reasons before being moved on to an account controlled by criminals.
The Blackrock case has renewed concerns about the sophistication of such fraud and the importance of monitoring bank accounts regularly. Customers are advised to report even apparently small or unusual transactions to their bank immediately and never share security credentials or OTPs with anyone.
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