Bank warns of new scam following Budget energy credit announcement

Bank of Ireland is warning customers to be very vigilant to a wave of new fraud attempts following the announcement of a range of new energy credits this week.

They say fraudsters often use topical events that are the subject of a lot of media coverage and commentary – in this case, energy credits announced in the recent Budget – to defraud consumers.

Bank of Ireland is seeing cases where customers receive an SMS pretending to be from the Irish Government (Gov.ie) saying they are eligible for a discounted bill under the new energy credit. However, this is just the first step in a scam designed to get the consumer to hand over their personal banking details.

How it works:

The consumer receives a text – pretending to be from an official Government source – telling them they are eligible for an energy credit.

The consumer replies to this and provides their personal contact details.

The fraudster then calls the consumer and pretends to be from their bank. The fraudster informs the consumer that they responded to a fake text and that now their debit/credit card, PIN, and phone sim card are compromised. The fraudster says someone from the bank, or a courier is on their way to collect the consumers card, PIN, and phone sim card.

In some cases, the consumer is kept on the phone to the fraudster until the person from the ‘bank’ or courier company arrives at their house.

Once they have taken these, fraudsters can then use the card for high value items, using chip & PIN.

Unfortunately, because the consumer believes they have been speaking with their bank, it can take some time before they realise that they are the victim of a theft and report this to their actual bank.

Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud, Bank of Ireland said: “Fraudsters are like chameleons. They design their scams to blend in with what’s in the news. But like all their criminal activity, this is just another attempt to steal your money.

“There are new fake texts in circulation from “GOV IE” telling consumers they are eligible for a discounted electricity bill. These are smishing texts, and when the customer responds, they get a call from the fraudster posing as a bank employee informing them that their debit/credit card, PIN and phone sim card have been compromised. The fact that this call is followed by a fraudster calling to the victim’s house to collect the “compromised” card and phone sim card is of particular concern.

“Be extra vigilant. Fraudsters want your personal information, even if it’s simply your phone number. Do not give it to them.”

Bank of Ireland’s advice to customers in response to the current activity:

Do not click on links or respond to any SMS text messages which are designed to appear as if sent by the bank or other businesses and service providers.

If you receive a suspicious call, hang up and don’t call back any number the caller may have given you.

Remember:

Bank of Ireland will never send you a text with a link to a website that asks you for your online banking login details or any One-Time Passcodes that we’ve sent to you.

Bank of Ireland will never, ever, call you and ask for your security credentials such as your full 365 PIN, card details, one-time codes, or codes from your Business On Line Approve App.

Where customers receive a text appearing to be from Bank of Ireland, the Check Your Text service (Security Zone – Bank of Ireland Group Website) is now available.

If you get a text that claims to be from Bank of Ireland but you are not sure if it’s genuine, here’s how to verify it:

Copy the text you wish to verify.

Paste into a new message.

Add the word CHECK before the text. (In the same text)

Send to 50365.

Alternatively send it to 365security@boi.com

If you think you may have given away any of your banking details, please call Bank of Ireland's 24/7 Freephone line 1800 946 764 immediately.