'It was a complete scam': Limerick gardaí warn of elaborate phone fraud targeting elderly

GARDAÍ in Limerick have issued a warning after a woman in her seventies was deceived by a highly organised phone scam in which callers posed as bank officials and persuaded her to transfer money via Western Union.

Sergeant Michelle O’Halloran, Crime Prevention Officer Henry Street Garda Station said: "This was a very detailed and organised scam which has come to Limerick Gardai’s attention this week. A woman in her seventies, received a phone call to her landline from a man claiming to be from her financial institution."

"He told her that fraudulent transactions had appeared on her account. He even gave her the name of the supposed recipient which happened to be the same surname as the victim — making the call sound even more legitimate."

Sgt O'Halloran continued: "He then involved another person, a woman, in a conference call, and the victim could hear them pretending to argue about refunding her money."

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"The woman on the line offered to return the full amount, plus extra for inconvenience — but claimed they could only send a specified amount if the victim agreed to return some of the money through Western Union."

The local crime prevention officer said the victim was convinced. "The male caller stayed on the phone while she went to the Post Office, guided her through the money transfer process, and even asked her to read out her identification details. Later, when she checked her bank account, she realised there had been no fraud at all. It was a complete scam from start to finish."

Sgt O'Halloran concluded: "These scammers are extremely skilled at gaining trust. They often sound calm, polite, and even helpful. They use just enough real information to make their story sound believable, and they keep people on the phone for as long as possible to stop them from checking with anyone else."

It’s important to remember: No bank will ever ask you to transfer money, give ID details, or share account information over the phone.

If you get a call like this, hang up immediately, and then call your bank back using a number from your card or official correspondence.

Never rely on a phone number or link provided by the caller — always source it yourself and  have these conversations with family and friends, alerting all to this type of fraud. Awareness is one of the best tools to prevent crime.