Scammers targeting households in receipt of Government energy supports

They restate the usual advice: Government departments, agencies or banks will never phone, text, email or video call you unexpectedly asking for your bank details. Never give your bank details, passwords or personal details if it seems a bit odd or out of the blue.

Don’t engage with anyone who contacts you saying that they have your PPS number, and if you believe you are a victim of a cyber-crime, contact your local Garda station and take screenshots of texts, emails or other communications.

Energy credits are paid automatically, you don’t need to apply for them. The first €200 installment of this scheme was paid late last year, the second was paid earlier this year and the third will hit accounts between now and the end of April. You should see a ‘credit line’ on your bill in the amount of €183.49 (this is €200 excluding VAT).

The Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) is also warning people about a phishing scam currently doing the rounds. The fraudster sends a text message and/or makes a phone call claiming that your credit union account has been put on hold or locked.

Similar to the energy credit scam, you’re then asked to click a link to a cloned credit union website and enter your personal details to verify your account. If it’s a phone call, they’ll just ask for your details.

The advice from the ILCU is the same: credit unions will never contact an individual member by phone, text, or email asking them to click a link to verify their account, or give personal account details over the phone. 

If you do get such a call, text message, or email, don’t click any links, and don’t give any details. If you’re in any doubt about any credit union related message, get in touch with your local credit union directly.

It’s not all bad news however. According to the most recent Garda crime stats, a range of fraud offences have declined significantly over the past two years.

Fraud offences overall are down 32% on 2021, while card-not-present fraud is down 59% and phishing/vishing/smishing frauds have fallen by 48%. These figures are falling back after a major surge in online fraud during the lockdowns.

But accommodation fraud is up by as much as 28%, according to these figures. Students in particular are being targeted in towns and cities where the shortage of suitable accommodation is particularly acute.

Some scams you can spot a mile off, but they’re like viruses, constantly mutating and evolving into stronger, more poisonous forms. The best way to protect yourself is to get familiar with the main ones out there right now.

Rental scams

One of the most prevalent rental scams at the moment begins to unfold after you’ve viewed the property online and made contact with the landlord. Invariably, the place looks great and the price is affordable. 

But the landlord is out of the country and can’t meet face-to-face. He’ll offer to send you the keys in exchange for one or two months’ rent, plus the usual deposit.

You wire him the money and get the keys, but it’s not until you show up at the place with all your stuff that you discover that the keys don’t fit, and in any case, someone’s already living there. Like so many of these types of scams, by the time you discover what’s happened, the scammer is long gone.

In another version, the fraudster is himself renting a place. He advertises, and posing as the landlord, he shows you around. As is common to almost all of these frauds, the rent is lower than you would expect for the location and the quality of the property. So, as before, you pay the deposit, along with the month or two’s rent and get a set of keys.

As soon as you’ve left, the same guy shows someone else around the property and collects another deposit and another month’s rent. And there could well be another prospective victim after that, and another after that again. By the time the fraud is discovered, as before, the scammer has disappeared.

Some scammers communicate exclusively by email, and will ask you to pay directly to a bank account to secure the property. In order to make the whole thing seem more legitimate, they’ll ask you to send on some form of identification along with the transaction receipt. In these cases, not alone do you lose your money, but your ID may subsequently be used for fraudulent activity.

To ensure you don’t fall into any of these traps, you’ve got to be able to recognise the red flags when you see them.

The long-distance landlord is one of the most obvious of these. If the person you’re corresponding with is in a foreign country, or comes up with some other reason why he can’t meet you, listen to those alarm bells, no matter how plausible the excuse.

The scammer wants your money, and they want to get it in a form that leaves as few traces as possible. Beware if you’re asked to send money via Western Union or some other electronic transfer service.

Watch out too if a prospective landlord over-shares, if you’re getting information about their financial or family problems. Sob stories are used to create empathy and gain trust. Be particularly suspicious if their circumstances prevent them from meeting you.

Excessive typos in the wording of the ad, or in the subsequent correspondence may also indicate that you’re dealing with a scammer.