Tusla issues scam warning and urges 'most extreme caution' after impersonation incident

The agency said all communication from Tusla will come from an official account. File picture.

Tusla, the Child and Family Agency, has issued a warning to the public to exercise the "most extreme caution" when receiving contact from persons representing to be from the agency after a recent incident of impersonation. 

In a warning issued this evening, Tusla said it is investigating the recent case of impersonation of one of the agency's staff and advised the public that agency employees will always carry official ID. 

The agency also warned that email communication from Tusla will only come from official Tusla email addresses for the public to always check the communication source if they have any doubts. 

"Elaborate scams can of course appear genuine and if you have any doubt check the phone number of the office that the email is coming from and call to establish the bona fides of the communication," the statement said. 

Speaking this evening, Tusla CEO, Bernard Gloster said the agency is investigating an impersonation incident and that staff will always be able to identify an official office number that the public can check. 

Tusla CEO Bernard Gloster said: “We are currently investigating an incident of impersonation and advise the public that our staff will always carry official I.D., they will always be able to identify a legitimate office number that you can check, and their email address is an official tusla.ie. account."

The agency said that if a member of the public receives an email from a Gmail account or from any other account that is not an official tusla.ie account, then the communication is not genuine. 

"If you receive an email from a tusla.ie address and you are in any way suspicious then please take additional precautions to check the source," the agency said.