Fraud Prevention

Fraud Alerts

Travelling abroad and using your card?

To let us know about your travel plans contact us on 1800 93 62 87

Protect your card when travelling!

Beware of shoulder surfers out and about, make sure to guard your PIN when using an ATM or card terminal

Identity Theft

419 Scams

Money Mules and Job Vacancies

Card and ATM Fraud

Buying Goods Online

The vast majority of online sellers are trustworthy and genuine. However you should exercise caution when purchasing or selling items online and take the same precautions online as you would offline.

Stay safe when buying goods through classified ads:

Don’t pay in advance for goods.
Beware of forgeries e.g. big brand name goods, tickets and multimedia products that are not originals.
Ensure you have full access to your purchase before handing over all your money.
Deal with people locally, who you can meet in person (this simple rule helps you avoid 99% of the safety or security issues people face).
Try to get a signed proof of purchase.
When paying for goods try to use PayPal - make sure you select that you are paying for goods and services - not to friends and family.
Never pay for goods through money transfer services

Investor Scams

Investors should be vigilant to potential scams targeted at shareholders in Irish and other public companies.

How investment frauds/scams operate

Often referred to as “boiler room scams”, these frauds are operated by individuals and companies who contact investors unexpectedly and offer a variety of investment schemes. Fraudsters can obtain investor information, such as address and shareholding details, by accessing shareholder lists which are required by Irish Company law to be made available. While “cold-calling” by telephone is the most common form of contact, they may also use email, post, face-to-face contact or approach investors at seminars.

Fraudsters often use high pressure sales tactics and tell investors that they need to make a quick decision or miss out on a deal which will give them a large return on their investment. The offer to purchase shares will likely come with a request for bank details or money up front as a bond or other form of security, which will be accompanied by a guarantee to pay back the money involved if the sale does not go ahead. This advance fee is part of the scam; investors are unlikely to hear from them again.

What to do if you’re contacted

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is - Verify the name and person and organisation that has contacted you and use search engines or professional networking sites on the internet to research the organisation or the individual. Often these searches may reveal warnings that the information is connected to a scam.

Review documentation received for similarities e.g. Phone Numbers are the same for different individuals
Don’t respond to high pressure tactics to provide bank details or arrange to transfer money if you are unsure of the bona fides of the caller.
Check if the company or individual is appropriately authorised to operate as an investment firm. The list of authorised investment firms is available on the following website: registers.centralbank.ie/ ; http://www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do
The Central Bank of Ireland can be contacted regarding information about such firms on (01) 224 4000. This line is also available to the public to check if an investment firm is authorised. A list of all warning notices issued to date on unauthorised investment firms is available on the website: www.centralbank.ie