GARDAÍ are warning that thieves are on the lookout for a chance to take advantage of eager GAA fans after match day frenzy got the better of a young Limerick woman and left her €150 worse off.
“Scammers are always on the lookout to steal from us, but they particularly love when people are trying to get something that is in short supply, like match tickets,” said Limerick Crime Prevention Officer Sergeant Ber Leetch.
On Thursday June 1 at 5.20pm, a 20-year-old woman from Garryowen saw an ad on DoneDeal for three Munster hurling final tickets, Sgt Leetch explained.
“This ad appeared to be legitimate and so she engaged with the seller through DoneDeal. She transferred €150 via her Revolut account to the seller, but never received the tickets. She can no longer contact this person, it was a scam.
“If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true,” Sgt Leetch said.
She added, citing a separate incident, that criminals are very willing to “have a go” in the hope that they will catch some easy targets with their scams.
On Wednesday May 31, a man in his fifties received a phone call from a woman who claimed to be working for Amazon.
“She said that he was due a refund and that his bank details were required so that Amazon could pay it. Unfortunately, this man is currently in hospital and very ill, so without thinking he provided his bank account details.
“Later in the day, he checked his bank account, expecting to see a deposit, and instead saw that over €700 had been taken from his account without his permission, the Sergeant said.
“We are all busy and distracted these days, but you must do the following if you want to avoid being a scammed.
“You must be very suspicious if you receive any form of unexpected contact offering you something that sounds too good to be true. Stop and think, but do not provide your banking details to anybody unless you know exactly who they are,” she concluded.
