Gardaí warn of recent ‘smishing’ scams circulating

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galway daily news Gardaí warn of recent 'smishing' scams circulating

Gardaí have issued a public warning about a recent spate of smishing scams where fraudsters pretend to be from Permanent TSB.

Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) have said that there have been recent scams where people receive texts claiming to be from TSB, warning about unusual activity on your account, or a suspicious log-in attempt.

These scams will then typically direct the person in question to a cloned website via a link, where the scammers will ask them for personal financial information.

They will attempt to get you to enter pins, passcodes and other personal information far beyond what a bank would ask from you.

The fraudsters want your personal data so they can steal money from your bank account or purport to be you when contacting banks.

GNECB is warning the public to be wary of such text messages and if in any doubt of the authenticity of the text, contact their bank on the numbers they usually use, not whatever number comes with this text.

There are other ‘smishing’ texts being received and these can purport to be from service providers, revenue, banks and/or delivery businesses.

Some can fit into the threads of previously received genuine texts which adds an air of authenticity to them.

Gardaí never clicking on any link in an unsolicited text or email, or giving away personal and financial information.

If you have been the victim of a scam like this, it is important that you immediately change your passwords/pin codes, contact your bank, and inform gardaí.