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Dublin Live
Dublin Live
National
Emma Nevin

Increase in scam activity expected as banks leave Irish market, Bank of Ireland warns

Bank of Ireland has warned the public to expect an increase in scam calls, texts and emails as Ulster Bank and KBC exit the Irish market.

Hundreds of thousands of current account customers are expected to move banks over the coming months, becoming vulnerable to fraudsters who "commonly take advantage of periods of change".

Customers have been warned to "independently verify messages or calls asking for personal information or account details or containing warnings around the cancellation of important payments."

Read more: South Dubliners warned about scammers calling door-to-door

Bank of Ireland has said that fraudsters will "try to introduce a sense of urgency" in order to persuade consumers to give away their banking details.

The bank issued the following advice to customers:

  • "Verify any texts/emails/phones calls saying they are from a bank or a utility provider asking you to take action relating to a direct debit, standing order, subscription.
  • "Do not click on any link or follow directions from somebody on a call without verifying first. End the call and phone your bank or the utility provider directly, using the number on their website.
  • "Bank of Ireland will never send you a text with a link to a website that asks you for your online banking login details or any one-time codes that we’ve sent to you.
  • "If you get a suspicious text please email a screenshot of the text to 365Security@boi.com and then delete the text.
  • "If you think you may have given away any of your banking details please call our 24/7 Freephone line 1800 946 764 immediately."

Read more: Warning to Irish people thinking about investing in cryptocurrency

Read more: Fake HSE Covid text scamming people out of money

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