The Irish public is urged to be extra wary of fraudsters amid a new sophisticated scam attempt doing the rounds.
Gardai issued a fresh warning on Thursday alerting people to a smishing scam targeting bank cards.
Several reports have been made to the force about the criminal activity which sees scammers pretending to be from financial institutions.
People will receive a text message which encourages them to click a link to resolve an issue with their cards.
After clicking on the link, they then receive a phone call from an individual claiming to be from the same bank.
The customer is informed that their bank card has been "compromised" and that they will send a taxi to collect their bank card and take it away for testing.
A taxi then arrives at the person's door, collects their card and later uses it for withdrawals and transactions.
Gardai said: "Gardaí at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) are warning the public to be vigilant against an ongoing smishing scam targeting people's bank cards.
"Gardaí have received a number of reports recently of a scam whereby victims receive a smishing text purporting to be from a bank.
"When they click on the link provided they then receive a phone call from a person stating they are from the same bank.
"This person advises the injured party their bank card has been compromised and that they will send a taxi to collect their bank card and take it away for testing.
"The taxi then arrives and collects the bank card from the victim and hands it over to another person. The victim later observes that their card was used to make withdrawals and purchases without their consent."
The spokesperson then issued some key advice for the public to avoid being caught out by scammers.
They said: "Gardaí would like to advise the public to be vigilant and advise as follows:
- Always be wary of unsolicited texts even if such text fits into the thread of previous genuine texts from banks
- NEVER EVER click on links in these texts – by doing so you are assessing cloned websites
- A bank will never send a text containing a link
- NEVER EVER give away personal data like PINs, one time codes or passwords
- A bank will never ask for your physical card to returned either by email, post, courier, taxi or have an employee collect it from your home
- If you have been a victim, it is vital to change your passwords/pin codes
- If you have been a victim, report the matter to your bank asking them to do a recall and report the matter to Gardaí.
