Local Gardai dealing with 'massive rise' in online fraud incidents

Gardai in Westmeath are dealing with what has been described as “an avalanche” in incidents of online fraud in recent weeks.

Sergeant Andrew Haran said the number and prevalence of online scams in the run up to Christmas “far outweighs” any other incidents being reported at local Garda Stations .

“It is a hugely prevalent issue” admitted Sergeant Haran, who added that the online fraud scams are becoming “more and more sophisticated all the time, and even the most alert and cautious individuals are being caught out.”

The Sergeant reiterated the strong Garda message to the general public that they should never respond to unsolicited messages or e-mails purporting to come from any financial institution.

“I could not overstate the message that people should never, ever divulge their personal or banking details such as passwords, pin numbers etc to any third party who contacts them out of the blue” he said.

Local Gardai have been dealing in recent weeks with a high volume of complaints from members of the public who have had money taken from their Bank accounts when they responded to e-mails purporting to come from courier delivery companies.

“With online shopping being so popular, particularly in the run-up to Christmas, the scammers are using every trick in the book, and ones that people wouldn’t even dream of, to get their hands on passwords and pin numbers” said Sergeant Haran “and it is very easy to click into a message in a split second when you might be tired or distracted.”

The Sergeant said he would like to get the message out “loud and clear” that if a message looks suspicious “it probably is” and members of the public should “be vigilant at all times” to the possibility of being scammed.