Many scams in the name of the Garda; Rise in the last three weeks
DUBLIN: People continue to fall for scams despite repeated garda warnings. Scams have been on the rise in the last three weeks, according to Garda. Gardai have issued a warning that at least one person is being scammed every day of the week, following a significant increase in the number of people falling victim to scams across the country. According to the Garda, such scams increased fivefold in the first 20 days of March 2023 compared to March 2022.
Fraud is being carried out in the names of the Attorney General’s Office and An Garda Síochána. They also trap people by linking them to social welfare, banks, delivery companies, and other businesses.
Fraudsters come up with innovative styles. Under the beat, they keep changing ‘ways’. However, Garda reminds us that their ultimate goal is always to extort money. By accessing sensitive information, they can extort money. Everyone should be careful not to disclose their information.
Scams that have recently surfaced…
Scammers are attempting to clone Garda confidential line numbers in order to extract information that people pass on.
A call from a number similar to the Garda Confidential Line will indicate that fraud or crime is being investigated and that further information is required. The phone number is 0-1800-666-111. The Garda Confidential Line can be reached at 1800-666-111. Also, do not make outgoing calls, Garda reminds.
Scammers may claim that there is an arrest warrant, that outstanding fines are owed, that DNA was discovered on the wrecked car and seized drugs, and that payment is required to avoid further action.
Another method is to impersonate a social security officer in order to obtain a PPS number.
There is no way for investigations to interfere with the money.
A party in a money laundering investigation in Dublin was “paid” €20,000 by fraudsters.
A house raid in Galway also resulted in €20,000 in stolen phone calls from a man claiming his PPS number had been discovered.
The thieves stole €9,000 after threatening the owner of DNA found at a crime scene in Cork and asking for information to aid the investigation.
€5,000 was extorted from a man in Waterford for tracking and returning a PPS number and claiming it was linked to drug trafficking and money laundering.
A person in Donegal who ‘won’ a €15,000 Amazon gift card was left with only €750.
An unknown person contacted me via social media, claiming the prize with an Amazon gift card, and extorted the money.
Do not give personal information to anyone.
Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau offers simple and direct advice: don’t give out personal information to anyone. “Do not interact with unknown people; do not call them back; do not click on links; do not download unknown apps; do not arrange to meet them; and never give personal data such as pin codes, passwords, PPS numbers, or dates of birth to anyone,” he advises.
Report any money-related phone calls to your local Garda station right away. If you are tricked, you must immediately notify the Garda.
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