'Substantial amount of money' scammed in Donegal by callers pretending to be gardaí

An Garda Síochána have warned phone users to show vigilance when receiving calls after a person was scammed out of “a substantial amount of money” having believed the call was from the gardaí.

Garda Gráinne Doherty of Letterkenny Garda Station stressed that gardaí “will never contact you by phone, email, or text to allege that you have committed a crime or to demand immediate payment for fines.”

She said: “We recently became aware of a scam in which a person received a call from an Irish mobile number and the caller claimed to be a member of An Garda Síochána attached to the Garda Financial Intelligence Unit.

“The recipient of the call was informed that her bank account had been used in connection with a number of fraud offences across Europe.

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“Over the course of a number of hours, the caller deceived the victim into setting up a Crypto Wallet and she transferred a substantial amount of money from her account to this wallet. The injured party then became suspicious and contacted An Garda Síochána. 

“In this instance, criminals are impersonating An Garda Síochána in an attempt to steal money or personal information. Scammers typically contact victims by phone or email, falsely claiming to investigate a crime, with a warrant for their arrest, or to inform them that their details have been linked to criminal activity, demanding payment or sensitive data like bank account details or PPS numbers. 

“An Garda Síochána will never contact you by phone, email, or text to allege that you have committed a crime or to demand immediate payment for fines. You should never respond, click links, provide information, or make payments if you receive such a call or email. If you have fallen victim to this or any type of scam, please alert your financial institution immediately and also report the matter to us.”