Irish consumers experienced €98.6m in stolen funds through frauds and scams last year, an increase of 16.4pc from the previous year..
The Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) is warning consumers to be cautious when booking travel or making holiday-related purchases this summer due to the rise in scam activity.
The BPFI instanced one consumer who booked a trip through a popular website and received confirmation via email. The consumer received another email two days later claiming to be from the booking website that claimed the payment for the reservation had not gone through. The email contained direct information from his booking. There was a typo in the email address and the link within it then redirected the consumer to a fraudulent site. The fraud occurred as a result of the hotel’s own email system being compromised.
Consumers are advised to check bargains on official travel websites rather than clicking links in emails or ads.
Travel accounts for a significant amount of the card fraud which accounted for 95pc of fraudulent transactions in 2022, with a rise in card use correlated to increased fraudulent card payments, as reported by BPFI’s FraudSmart initiative.
Other fraud types with lower volumes resulted in higher average losses, including unauthorised electronic transfers and authorised push payment (APP) fraud, which saw a significant rise in cases and values last year.
Investment and romance scams saw a significant increase last year, with a 42.5pc rise in cases and an 82.2pc increase in transactions value.
BPFI is cautioning consumers to be vigilant when booking travel and accommodation, highlighting signs of potential scams such as unbelievable deals and copycat websites.
Niamh Davenport, head of financial crime at BPFI, warned consumers against bank transfers for payments due to the difficulty in recovering funds in the event of a scam and advises consumers to be wary of copycat websites aiming to steal card details.
“Watch out for copycat websites offering holiday accommodation and packages that closely mimic a legitimate site or well-known company brand, but may have subtle differences in the website name and often have spelling errors. These sites aim to steal your card details and personal information for fraudulent activities. Fraudsters are opting for more complex and deceptive methods to gain access to debit and credit card details. Sgns of a potential scam include unbelievable deals in fake emails or ads, copycat websites, and emails claiming payment issues for reservations.“
