Scam victims conned into paying an average of €1,700 to fraudsters

The BPFI says people should be alert to phony texts, emails, and calls, even those purportedly coming from "trusted organisations such as your bank, utility company, streaming service, mobile provider, or your employer's HR department”. Picture: iStock

Victims of text messaging or 'smishing' scams were deceived into paying an average of €1,700 to fraudsters during the first half of this year, according to new research.

FraudSMART, the fraud awareness initiative of the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI), says that the total number of smishing scams it has been notified of so far this year is almost double the amount seen during the first six months of 2021.