AS the festive season is in full swing in Limerick, between celebrations with family returning back home from abroad for the holidays and New Year nights out on the town, Gardaí on Shannonside have warned revellers to be extra careful not to fall victim to ‘shoulder surfing’.
Garda John Finnerty, of Henry Street Garda Station, said the criminal phenomenon – which revolves an opportunistic thief watching over the shoulder of people paying for goods for all-important card codes or information or a device to snatch – is especially prevalent this year with more people than ever using their smartphones to pay.
“Many people now use their smart phones to pay for goods, whether this is in shops, restaurants, or pubs,” Garda Finnerty explained.
“Criminals are now targeting late-night revellers who may be out socialising in bars, nightclubs, and restaurants. While the victim is paying for items, the criminal is looking over his or her shoulder to see the passcode that the victim is using to open their phone.”
Garda Finnerty said that when a thief spots their mark, they will memorise passcodes or pin numbers and “subsequently target the victim and attempt to steal the phone”.
“This will usually happen late at night when the victim’s defences are low. Once the phone is in the hands of the criminal, he will try and access the victim’s online banking app. Unfortunately, most people use similar pin codes for a variety of purposes, including their online banking app. Consequently, the criminal will access the banking app and transfer funds from the victims account to their own account. This occurs in seconds.”
The Henry Street Gardaí said that advice to the public from local crimestoppers is to be “very conscious of using their mobile phones in public”.
“We would advise all mobile phone owners to use different pin codes for different apps on all their devises. This is inconvenient but it provides more protection from online fraud.”
