Gardaí have issued a warning regarding bogus phone calls which are made in the hope of scamming the person on the receiving end of the line, according to
Leinster Express.
The warning states that members of the public are vulnerable to this scam which involves the payment of a speeding fine.
People are being asked by scammers for their credit or debit card details to pay speeding fines and the hope is that the victim will stay on the phone for a few minutes arguing, racking up a bill. Worst case scenario, the victim actually hands over details.
The calls come from what looks like a mobile number, but actually it has an extra digit at the end and is from another country entirely.
"Be aware that you should not accept phonecalls asking for credit card details to pay speeding fines," Sergeant Graham Kavanagh, Crime Prevention Officer has said.
"The callers are using various guises, and will alter the scam. The main message is that no-one cold calls to look for credit or debit cards for any speeding fines."
The scam is targeting everyone but people who are expecting penalties for speeding fines are advised to take extra caution if they receive the call.
The main message is: don't panic, you NEVER need to transfer your details over the phone and if they ask, hang up straight away in case there is an international charge.
There has also been a second scam going around, with callers pretending to be from Bank of Ireland.
"A male received a phone call from Cambodia this morning claiming to be from Bank of Ireland College Green. The caller claims that €1100 has been scammed from his account in Cambodia and requested that he transfoer €900 through Western Union and they would transfer him back €2,000. Caller was aware it was a scam and hung up. Unfortunately every now and then people get caught out," Sergeant Kavanagh said.
This follows on from a phone scam in October where people complained about getting
phone calls from Liberia and it was found that answering or ringing the numbers back cost a bomb of money.
Spread the word and make sure that these con artists don't get the upper hand on anyone.
READ NEXT: This Is What Most Irish People Want For Christmas - And It's Not What You'd Think
