A LIMERICK mother deeply concerned about her daughter was scammed out of a huge amount of cash after being taken in by a scammer’s text message.
Crime Prevention Officer at Henry Street Garda Station, Sergeant Ber Leetch, said that people in Limerick are still being scammed by a text message phishing scheme that plays on parents’ natural concern for their children.
Earlier this month, a lady in her 50s who lives on the Pennywell Road received a text from an unknown number, Sergeant Leetch said. The text read “Hi Mum”, so the lady assumed it was from her daughter.
Reading the scammer’s text, the mother believed that her daughter needed money to repair her phone.
“Unfortunately, the mum did not hesitate to send her bank details to who she believed was her daughter, as she was in need of some money,” Sergeant Leetch said.
“The mum sent a photo of her bank card and within minutes almost €900 was taken from her bank account. She subsequently discovered that she had been a victim of a scam.”
Sergeant Leetch said that the scam “is going around a while and I received that text myself a number of months ago. It does trigger a sense of panic and a need to help your child but, as my daughter was sitting with me, I knew it was a scam.
“There is also a “Hi Dad” text going around and I understand why a parent might be caught out. The security advice remains the same, pause, ring your child directly, if you cannot contact them ring a trusted friend and ask them could this be a scam?
“Do not share your bank details with anybody,” the Henry Street Garda warned.
