Gardai warn public about latest phone scam

Gardai have issued a warning to the public in relation to a current scam/fraud whereby a person receives a phonecall claiming to be from An Garda Síochána.

The latest scam doing the rounds involves a member of the public receiving a phonecall purporting to come from a member of an Garda Siochána, in which the caller may say that they are investigating you for a crime and/or that there’s a warrant out for your arrest. The caller then demands that you provide your bank account details to pay a fine.

In a statement issued by An Garda Siochána, they have reminded members of the public that they will never contact them by phone to allege that they may have been engaged in criminal activity, and will never demand bank details or payment of a fine over the phone.

These calls come from a variety of international number and Irish mobile numbers - but these calls are entirely fraudulent and not real.

An Garda Siochána have reiterate that they do not, and will not, make contact with a person who is under investigation by Gardaí in this way.

Their advice to help avoid becoming a victim of fraud is as follows:

* Don’t respond to any unsolicited call or email seeking personal, financial or security advice

* If you believe the call or email is from a genuine source, verify this independent of the person who has made contact

* Independently verify any requests for information and never use the contact details supplied to you in the fraudulent call or email

* Never click on a link or attachment in an unsolicited email.

The statement adds that it is very easy to have inadvertently or otherwise engaged with this latest scam or similar, and have subsequently found yourself to a victim of fraud - don’t hesitate to drop into or call us in your local Garda Station so that we can help.