Gardaí urge public to be vigilant over latest eFlow scam texts 

The beginning of the latest 'eFlow' scam text currently in circulation.

Gardaí are urging the public to be vigilant of an ongoing scam, which sees people receiving phoney texts from motorway toll operator eFlow.

The latest iteration of these "smishing" scam texts sees the person targeted receive a message from "eFlow driving", informing them they have failed to pay a "radar ticket".

The lengthy text then directs the target to pay this ticket by a particular date or risk having their vehicle registrations suspended, their driving licence suspended, and further charges levied against them. The message also includes a warning that failure to do so may result in prosecution and affect their credit score.

The text also includes a hyperlink with a .icu domain name.

Clicking on the link brings the target to a phoney website which imitates eElow's legitimate website, which contains a field in which the target is told to provide their card payment details.

The Irish Examiner has seen a number of examples of such texts. In all instances, the sender's number appeared located outside of Ireland.

The scam comes as thousands of hurling fans from Cork and Tipperary would have travelled through tolls for Sunday's All-Ireland final. 

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána told the Irish Examiner it was aware of these "ongoing ‘scams’, and persistent attempts of fraudulent activity targeting individuals, of which this highlighted version is a current manifestation".

The spokesperson urged people never to send money to a third party unless their bona fides could be trusted, and to always be wary of unsolicited contact from numbers based in other jurisdictions.

Gardaí also issued the following advice on scam texts more generally:

• Be wary when the avenues for contacting the other party are limited;
• Push for direct answers and if responses are vague, disengage immediately;
• Never give personal, financial or security information to persons who are unknown to you;
• If it sounds too good to be true it probably is;
• Do your research and accept nothing as fact until you have satisfied yourself that it is genuine.

"An Garda Síochána would remind the public to be fraud aware and maintain good practices at all times when making payments online to any third party," the spokesperson added.

"An Garda Síochána would appeal to any person who has been the victim of fraudulent activity to report this crime at your local Garda station."

More information can be found at garda.ie

In a statement, eFlow confirmed it was aware of scammers impersonating it to extract people's personal and financial details.

"In recent months, scammers have targeted people nationwide with fraudulent texts claiming to be from eFlow," it said.

"These smishing attempts typically send an urgent message asking recipients to click on a link, which can lead to the extraction of personal financial information and theft."

The toll operator said it did not send links in text messages. Anyone who receives a message like this should not click the link and delete the message immediately.

The company also said its system "has not been compromised or subjected to a data breach".

Bogus texts purportedly from eFlow can be reported to [e-mail] before deletion.

The company added anyone who has clicked on the link should contact their bank immediately.