The bank said fraudsters often use topical events that are the subject of a lot of media coverage and commentary to defraud consumers.
Bank of Ireland is seeing cases where customers receive an SMS pretending to be from the Irish Government (Gov.ie) saying they are eligible for a discounted bill under the new energy credit.
“However, this is just the first step in a scam designed to get the consumer to hand over their personal banking details,” the bank has warned.
A screengrab of the scam from fraudsters. Source: Bank of Ireland
The scam works by the consumer getting a text, pretending to be from an official Government source – telling them they are eligible for an energy credit.
The consumer replies to this and provides their personal contact details.
The fraudster then calls the consumer and pretends to be from their bank and informs them that they responded to a fake text and that now their debit/credit card, PIN, and phone sim card are compromised.
The fraudster says someone from the bank, or a courier is on their way to collect the consumers card, PIN, and phone sim card.
In some cases, the consumer is kept on the phone to the fraudster until the person from the ‘bank’ or courier company arrives at their house.
Once they have taken these, fraudsters can then use the card for high value items, using chip and PIN.
As the consumer believes they have been speaking with their bank, it can take some time before they realise that they are the victim of a theft and report this to their actual bank.
Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud, Bank of Ireland said “fraudsters are like chameleons” as they design their scams to blend in with what’s in the news.
But like all their criminal activity, this is just another attempt to steal your money, she stressed
“The fact that this call is followed by a fraudster calling to the victim’s house to collect the “compromised” card and phone sim card is of particular concern.
“Be extra vigilant. Fraudsters want your personal information, even if it’s simply your phone number. Do not give it to them,” she said.
Bank of Ireland’s advice to customers in response to the current activity is to not click on links or respond to any SMS text messages which are designed to appear as if sent by the bank or other businesses and service providers.
“If you receive a suspicious call, hang up and don’t call back any number the caller may have given you,” the bank has advised.
Bank of Ireland said it will never send you a text with a link to a website that asks you for your online banking login details or any One-Time Passcodes that we’ve sent to you.
It added that it will never call you and ask for your security credentials such as your full 365 PIN, card details, one-time codes, or codes from your business on line approve app.
If you think you may have given away any of your banking details, please call our 24/7 Freephone line 1800 946 764 immediately.
