AIB issued a warning about a new form of travel fraud using targeted ads to attract holidaymakers to fake websites.
Called “ghost brokering”, it the prompts users to provide their contact information to use the website’s search function.
Once the information is provided, people are bombarded with messages attempting to persuade them to purchase cheap holidays.
Additionally, the Central Bank has stated that scam operations come in various forms, such as advance fee fraud, fake loan providers, cloning of well-known financial service providers, fake investment businesses, and more.
The Central Bank is advising consumers to use the four-step ‘SAFE’ test — stop, assess, fact-check and expose.
