Warning over fraudsters in Christmas run-up as Amazon scam returns
Phone, generic, stock, mobile
Gardaí in Cork have warned the public to be careful when answering unknown phone calls, revealing there has been an increase in the number of scams circulating in the county.
Many people have reported receiving phone calls claiming to be from Amazon, a hoax aiming to catch shoppers in the run-up to Christmas, with many awaiting packages from the popular online retailer.
The latest of these scams was reported in Cork, with one guard saying a similar scam that had been doing the rounds last year is "trending at the moment".
In the hoax, the caller stated he was from Amazon and was contacting the person in order to process an Amazon Prime refund that was due into their account.
The receiver was then asked to download a Team Viewer app on their mobile phone, which in turn allowed the scam caller access to the phone.
After this step was completed, the scammer was able to access the person's savings via the Revolut app, transferring money and leaving the injured party at a loss.
Speaking to Patricia Messinger on C103's , Fermoy Garda Station's Sergeant John Kelly issued a warning asking people to be mindful of unsolicited calls and texts.
He also advised that fraudsters have been known to use a method known as “number spoofing”, where they can manipulate the address they are calling from and could in fact call from anywhere and the number could appear as a Dublin number.
Earlier this year, gardaí reported there has been a 370% increase in the incidence of fraud-related crimes such as phishing, smishing and fishing.
There has also been an 111% increase in the number of fraud offences in the country.
Gardaí have urged members of the public to be wary of unsolicited phone calls, emails, and texts and not to click on any links.
Anyone who believes they have been the victim of fraud should contact their local garda station as soon as possible.
