There has been a massive increase in account takeover fraud in 2022.
That’s according to Garda Tom O’Dwyer who is a crime prevention officer in Thurles.
He says that account takeover fraud, including scam calls and texts has increased by 552% in 2022 compared to last year, with over 22.5 million euro stolen in 2021.
Speaking on Tipp Today earlier, officer O’Dwyer says Covid has played a part in this increase:
“I suppose it did and people ask why this type of crime increases and with more and more people working from home, shopping online and banking online, and using social media more and more.
“This then creates the opportunities for the scammers to steal our data and our money.”
He also offered advice to anyone who receives random calls or texts.
“First of all, always be suspicious if you get a call or text from anyone looking for personal data or a payment of any type, be suspicious is the first thing.
“Now, if you get a text in from a bank or Government agency, which there’s a load of those going around all the time, don’t engage with the message, don’t click into a link or make any attempt to engage with the message that will lead you into a fraudulent site.”
