The FBI has officially classified Irish scammers as an international criminal group, prompting heightened alert among police forces throughout Europe, new reports show, reports The Mirror.
The Irish Sunday Mirror has found that law enforcement in no fewer than five European nations have issued advisories about traveling Irish fraudsters who aim to extract as much money as possible from unsuspecting homeowners, business operators—and even tourists.
We can report that police in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Luxembourg have all sounded the alarm about gangs now widely referred to as Irish scammers since the beginning of this year, reports The Mirror.
One specialist commented: “It’s an epidemic. They are moving all over Europe and making a fortune. Many of the people involved are from Britain and even mainland Europe but the Irish name has stuck because most of the men involved originate in Ireland.”
Sources say the scammers are deploying three major tactics and are raking in substantial profits each week, reports The Mirror.
One con involves the scammers doing construction or repair work—but it’s done so poorly that the surfaces begin to deteriorate within days, and by then, the criminals are long gone.
Another scheme involves the gangs knocking on doors and claiming they’ve noticed small issues on the home’s exterior, offering to fix them cheaply, reports The Mirror.
But after the job begins, the fraudsters claim they’ve uncovered more serious structural problems—then demand huge sums of money to address them.
A third method they use targets innocent pedestrians in public areas.
In recent weeks, law enforcement across Europe has documented incidents where Irish men approach strangers on the street asking for assistance—usually saying their vehicle has been broken into. They then ask the person to withdraw money on their behalf to cover supposed repairs, reports The Mirror.
They present a banking app on their phones and promise to instantly transfer the money into the helper’s account if they hand over the cash.
But the app is a fake, and the scammers vanish with the money.
Just last week, police in the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany, issued an official warning about this ploy, reports The Mirror.
They stated: “In recent weeks, there have been cases of fraud using the ‘Stranded Traveller Scam,’ particularly in Nuremberg, but also in other parts of Middle Franconia. Police are once again warning against this fraud method. In this scam, the scammers personally pose as ‘stranded’ tourists to a victim. They explain that their credit card has been revoked and they no longer have access to cash. “They ask their counterpart for cash and, in front of the victim, make a transfer via mobile phone, in order to immediately return it online. However, this is a fake banking app. The money never arrives,” reports The Mirror.
“On March 11, 2025, a fraudster approached a man on Camerariusstrasse in Nuremberg. He claimed to be an Irish tourist and explained that his wallet had been stolen, which meant he couldn’t get any cash. After a lengthy conversation, the victim withdrew approximately €1,500 from an ATM and handed it over to the alleged tourist. At the same time, the perpetrator transferred the money back to the victim via a banking app. However, since the app was fake, no transfer took place,” reports The Mirror.
A few days ago, a woman in Amsterdam took to Facebook to warn friends about two Irish men roaming her area.
She said: “These Irish men will clean your driveway without permission and then ask for a couple of €100 for it. Visited the neighbour in my street (Röntgenstraat) today and eventually picked up the police. Just call the police if you see this van” reports The Mirror.
Police in Etrelles, located in northern France, have also circulated a warning.
We’ve also discovered that authorities in Belgium and the Netherlands have recently apprehended suspected Irish scammers, reports The Mirror.
But the criminals aren’t limiting their operations to Europe—they’re active in the United States as well.
Sara Miron Bloom, acting U.S. attorney for Rhode Island, noted that these scams can bring in significant revenue on American soil.
She added: “The FBI has designated this type of scheme as a loosely affiliated transnational criminal organisation.” She was speaking after Irishman John O’Brien, 28, was charged over one alleged scam,” reports The Mirror.
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