Brendan Burgess
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Eight scams Irish consumers should be wary of
Pricewatch: criminals have become much more adept at conning people out of their cash using a variety of scams
Here are eight common scams to watch out for
The Romance Scam: Victims are targeted online and lured into fake relationships by criminals using bogus identities. Once trust is established, the thieves strike. Victims are asked for money, maybe so their “new love” can visit or help a sick family member. Sometimes, their new love has a plan to invest for the “benefit” of the victim.The Fake Rental: Scams involving rental properties are increasingly common as criminals exploit the housing crisis to get people to pay deposits for rental properties that do not exist. They use the same bogus property, the same names and backstories and the same pictures of properties pulled randomly from the web in multiple attempts to defraud people.
Caller ID Spoofing: Calls come from Irish mobile or landline numbers carrying dire warnings about compromised PPS numbers and imminent arrests.
The Fake Invoice Scam: Criminals send emails to businesses and individuals purporting to be a legitimate supplier. These emails contain a request for the firm to change the bank account details on record for the supplier to a new bank account. The account is controlled by the criminals. Nothing might happen for weeks or even months and, in many instances, the business does not know it is a victim of this scam until the legitimate supplier sends a reminder invoice seeking payment.
The Smishing Scam: Text messages come from banks asking people to follow a link or submit some personal details on the basis that suspicious activity has been noted on a particular account.
The Bogus Delivery Scam: You get a text message from a delivery company to alert you that a delivery has been attempted but you weren’t home. Alternatively, a message might land warning that customs charges have been attached to a delivery which is being held until you pay up. The text message will come with a link to a site that is dressed up to look legitimate but if financial details are entered, the criminals can quickly gain access to a person’s finances and drain accounts.
Cryptocurrency Scams: Promises of large returns on crypto investments are becoming more common and are a rich seam for criminals.
The Missed Call Scam: You miss a call from an unknown number and when you return it, you get through to an answering service. You stay on the line for a few minutes to find out what is going on and pay exorbitant rates for doing so.
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