AS A MAJOR drive to help stop scammers in their tracks is launched, Gardaí in Limerick have sounded the warning following a number of local incidents.
Sergeant Michelle O’Halloran, Crime Prevention Officer at Henry Street Garda Station, has outlined how, on March 13, bogus tradesmen called to the home of a man in his 70s in the Athea area offering their services to lay tarmacadam, which he accepted.
“The bogus tradesmen carried out some work, but not as promised,” Sergeant O’Halloran said.
“It is so important for homeowners not to allow any tradesmen entry to their home until they are 100 per cent satisfied they are reputable and have carried out their own independent enquiries.
“Do not accept any work from persons calling to your home; go with services that have been recommended to you by a trusted friend or family,” she warned.
The Crime Prevention Officer further asked “those living in remote or rural areas to call in on vulnerable or elderly neighbours and relay this message.”
“The ‘bogus caller cards’ are available from our local Garda Station. If you encounter cold callers to your door, you simply follow the instructions on the caller cards, handing a card to the cold caller, but never ever allowing entry to your home.”
Sergeant O’Halloran said that Limerick Gardaí are also investigating a recent scam which saw a woman in her 40s received a phone call from a scammer pretending to be from her banking institution.
“The caller then convinced the victim to remove a significant amount of money from her bank account into a further financial institution account which she had and had a mobile app for,” she explained.
“The victim followed the instructions from the caller, believing the caller to be genuine. The account was accessed and the money was then removed from the account, with the victim at a financial loss.
“An investigation has commenced into this incident with Gardai in Askeaton investigating,” Sergeant O’Halloran explained.
“Again, I wish to reiterate a key message, which is not to discuss your financial accounts over the telephone. If you have any concerns, just hang up and ring the company back yourself using a phone number you sourced yourself.”
This comes as FraudSMART and Google have launched a major campaign called ‘See the Scam Behind the Screen’ to warn consumers about social engineering tactics and how to protect themselves from scams.
The campaign focuses on three areas where people are most vulnerable, namely investment scams, bank impersonation, and text scams. Further information is available on fraudsmart.ie.
