FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative launched by the Banking & Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI), has warned that there has been an increase in investment scams targeting the elderly and obtaining funds of €20,000 and more.
Niamh Davenport, head of financial crimes at the BPFI, told BreakingNews.ie: “We’ve been focusing the last few months on people who are 55+, pension age or preparing to retire, that age tends to have more money than younger people which makes them a target. With the cost-of-living and inflation people may be looking online thinking ‘I’ll take my pension lump sum but how can I ensure it lasts the rest of my life?’ They’re not people with a spare €20,000 lying around. People working their entire lives and trying to invest for their future and the money is lost. It’s devastating, your entire life’s work gone. Banks try to question these transactions, but they can’t always do that,” reports Breaking News.
She also warned against trusting texts and emails, even if they look official.
“When people access their websites, for investment bonds or whatever, they look professional and have forms for follow-up calls. They’re easy to fall for. One pay day is hugely profitable for them, one person being scammed can give them a year’s salary for the average worker,” reports Breaking News.
As for minor text message scams, Ms Davenport said banks would not ask for personal or financial information via SMS. She added that they would never send out links for people to click on.
Fraudulent SMS messages from banks have increased significantly.
However, she said the trend has now changed, with most fraudulent text messages impersonating companies and organisations.
Prominent examples include scam texts claiming to be from An Post and eFlow, and WhatsApp messages claiming to be from other people’s children whose phones have been stolen.
As for the investment scams aimed at the elderly, Ms Davenport urged anyone considering it to seek outside advice as they may have websites that look professional.
For anyone who has made a transfer and is in doubt, the best thing to do is to contact their bank as soon as possible.
“When people access their websites, for investment bonds are whatever, they look professional and have forms for follow-up calls. They’re easy to fall for. One pay day is hugely profitable for them, one person being scammed can give them a year’s salary for the average worker. People are not as cautious talking about fraud now but with the larger ones they are still afraid to come forward. These are where transfers have actually been made. The quicker you contact your bank the more likely you are to get your funds bank. But if the fraudster has already withdrawn the money, it’s too late,” reports Breaking News.
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