Gardai have arrested a man in his 40s after they recovered over €175,000 in an alleged case of fraud during a home purchase.
The alleged victim, who was living in Europe, was attempting to buy a home in Ireland when they were defrauded.
The perpetrator hacked the email of the solicitor being used by the prospective property owner and requested the payment.
The funds were sent but it was discovered a few days later that the email address had been hacked and the bank number the money was sent to did not belong to the solicitor.
A garda spokesman said: "Personnel attached to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau have arrested a man, aged in his 40s, in the Tallaght area of Dublin this morning, 10th February, 2022.
"The arrest relates to an incident of invoice re-direct fraud which occurred in December 2020. The GNECB received a report in which a person, who was living in Europe, was planning to purchase a residence in Ireland. During the process, they had received an email from their solicitor which requested payment."
The significant sum of money was thankfully recovered and sent back to the victim after the gardai made contact with the bank.
The spokesman added: "The victim subsequently sent a transfer in excess of €175,000 to the account number supplied. In the following days, it was discovered that the solicitor’s email address had been hacked and the bank number supplied was not belonging to this solicitor.
"GNECB made enquires with the banks and successfully managed to freeze and retrieve all of the money, which was then returned to the victim."
The spokesman said the arrested man in his 40s was being held in Tallaght Garda Station.
They said: "The man, who was arrested for an offence contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, is currently detained at Tallaght Garda Station.
"He can be detained for up to 7 days. Investigations ongoing."
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