'Very easy' to fall for fraudulent pornography scam - Gardaí issue warning to community

Gardaí are urging recipients of an email scam to avoid engaging with fraudsters in any way. 

According to An Garda Síochána, the scam involves email-based letter correspondence (purporting to be from Gardaí) which states the individual is currently subject to ongoing legal proceedings in relation to pornography. 

Gardaí confirmed they "do not and will not" make contact with a person under investigation in this manner. 

They posted an example on their X (formerly Twitter) account of the type of correspondence currently circulating in the community. 

In the scam letter posted by Gardaí, which lays out a number of accusations of a serious nature, the recipient is told to respond within 72 hours. 

We are aware of a current email based scam/fraud claiming to be from An Garda Síochána.

The correspondence states that the individual is currently subject to ongoing legal proceedings.

We do not and will not make contact with a person under investigation in this way. pic.twitter.com/f3LPs5wARB

— Garda Info (@gardainfo) December 10, 2023

In a statement, Gardaí offered the following advice: "Don’t respond to any unsolicited email seeking personal, financial or security advice. Never click on a link or attachment in an unsolicited email. Independently verify the source of an email and the request for information if you believe it's from a genuine source." 

A Garda spokesperson said, "It is very easy to have inadvertently or otherwise engaged with this scam or another similar scam, and subsequently found yourself a victim of fraud - do not hesitate to contact your local Garda Station so that we can help."