Gardaí in Carlow issue warning over recent surge in phone and text scams

Gardaí have issued a warning to people in Carlow about an influx in the number of reported phone and text scams recently.

In a post on social media, Carlow Gardaí have urged people to be more "fraud smart" and to protect themselves against such scams as they said "fraudsters are more convincing than ever."

The Gardaí explained that there are two main types of phone scams that people can fall victim to: vishing and smishing.

Vishing is a phone scam where scammers pretend to be from your bank, tech support, or other trusted sources. As the Gardaí explained, these often claim that there is fraudulent activity on your account as a way to ask for PINs or personal details.

Smishing are text message scams. These texts look like they are coming from your bank, Revenue, or some other service provider. The text will ask you to click on a link or call a number which will then lead you to a scammer.

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To help protect yourself from such scams, Carlow Gardaí has reminded the public to never share any personal or banking information with unsolicited callers and to not trust texts with links, always verify with the organisation directly.

Additionally, they advised that banks will never ask for your PIN, PPSN, or online banking password by phone or text. Essentially, if people are ever in doubt they should hang up and call their bank directly.

Carlow Gardaí said that if you think you've been scammed, you should contact your bank immediately and report it to An Garda Síochána.