Public warned fraud scams are getting more 'complex and credible'
Of €85m Stolen Criminal Gangs Total In 2022 A By Was
Consumers are being hit with fraud scams that are “increasingly more complex and credible”, with a total of €85m stolen by criminal gangs in 2022.
It marks an increase of almost 9% on 2021, with most of the rise driven by fraudsters who trick people into handing over their bank account details, often through text message scams.
The Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) appealed to people not to respond to text messages looking for personal information or to click on links in them and to never give away PINs or passwords.
BPFI's FraudSMART report for 2022 shows:
- Card fraud accounted for 95% of fraudulent transactions, but only 40% of the amount lost (€33.4m);
- Online card fraud — where criminals use a victim’s compromised card information to make online purchases — rose in value by 24% (€27.1m);
- Unauthorised electronic transfers — mainly through mobile and online banking — accounted for 39% of fraud losses at €32.8m but less than 4% of transactions.
The report warns consumers to be on “high alert” as text message fraud, known as smishing, continues to increase.
FraudSMART said this type of fraud was now the dominant channel for fraud attempts, with one in two adults having received fraudulent text messages in the previous 12 months.
It said these messages often include a link and a “sense of urgency” requiring immediate action.
Head of financial crime at BPFI Niamh Davenport said: “The figures show that card fraud continues to account for the vast majority of fraudulent payment transactions, at 95% of the total volume, although these transactions tend to represent lower levels of losses on average.
“Other fraud types have relatively low volumes but would have higher average losses, particularly any fraud that leads to account takeover where the fraudster takes control of your main bank account by tricking you into handing over your bank log-in details.”
She added: “The truth is any of us can fall victim to fraudsters. Frauds and scams are becoming increasingly more complex and credible and are often undertaken by criminal gangs who run large-scale operations.”