Gardaí sting scammer offering fake Irish driving licences in hilarious WhatsApp exchange

A scammer claiming to sell fake Irish driving licences that could "pass Garda checks" was caught red-handed after unknowingly trying to sell one to an officer in a covert WhatsApp exchange.

In a post shared on Facebook, gardaí detailed how they spotted the scam on social media where an individual was offering counterfeit Irish driving licences for €680, boldly claiming they would "pass Garda checks".

To test the claims, gardaí decided to go undercover.

The WhatsApp exchange begins with a garda posing as a potential customer: "How can I get a licence, I saw your post on fb."

The scammer asks if the buyer has a provisional licence. When told, "No, disqualified," it doesn't faze him. He replies with an offer: "All our licenses pass Garda check… Everything will be verified."

The scammer goes on to claim he works "under NDLS" and assures the undercover officer that the licence would show up as genuine on official databases. Payment, he says, can be made via Revolut or PayPal.

The fraudster even offers a sample, sending back photos of a realistic-looking Irish driving licence with a warning: "Check out the date pls don't save the image."

But the conversation ends with a twist.

After being told the licence "actually looks very good," the scammer continues to press for a sale, doubling down on their claims to work under the NDLS, before boldly stating: "I know you will recommend to your friends after this first work."

Minutes later, the Garda replies, "Driving at the mo", before sending a picture of their badge, captioned: "That's my work ID, all messages saved."

In their Facebook post, gardaí wrote: "While having a look around our posts online, we recently came across a chap that was offering fake Driving Licences that he reckoned would pass Garda scrutiny, and just for the small fee of €680. So we decided to check it out for ourselves."

"For what it's worth, the sample licences he sent us didn't pass our scrutiny. Even those back at the station that weren't up to speed on our sting knew them to be fake."

Gardaí warned that presenting a fake licence at a checkpoint could lead to not only road traffic offences, but serious fraud charges.

"If you did take the chance and present us with one of these at a checkpoint or on the roadside - it wouldn't just be the alleged road traffic offences that we would be pursuing but fraud offences too."

As gardaí quipped in the post, the licence is "not worth the plastic it's printed on".

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