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POLICE IN NORTHERN Ireland have issued a warning to the public after £20,000 (€22,670) was stolen from elderly people in two separate phone scams.
PSNI in Newry, Co Down were contacted by an elderly couple who received a telephone call from a man on Thursday who claimed to work for British Telecom (BT), informing them of a fault on their line.
The couple reported that the man asked them to log onto their computer to test various online applications and talked them through a process to allow him remote access to their computer.
The man then gained access to their computer and withdrew £10,000 (€11,330) from their online banking account.
In the second incident, a woman in Co Down was contacted by a man purporting to be from BT, who claimed that he needed her banking details in order to refund her a sum of money.
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After her details were relayed to the man, a sum in excess of £10,000 was taken.
“These examples show us how easily scammers can extract large sums of money from unsuspecting members of the public. It is therefore of extreme importance that we all take time to consider who it is we are speaking to when we receive an unsolicited call and not to place our trust in a complete stranger,” Detective Sergeant Melanie McGrory said.
McGrory warned that people should always be wary of any individual that cold calls you, and to be “especially suspicious” of anyone who asks for money, banking or credit card information or who asks to gain access remotely to your computer.
It’s highly unusual for any legitimate company or organisation to demand money over the phone or ask to gain access to someone’s computer, she noted.
“If you are at all suspicious about a call that you receive, hang up and phone the organisation that the person is purporting to represent to check their authenticity,” McGrory said.
“Ideally make the call from another telephone so you can be sure the original caller has not remained on the line,” she said.
Guarding your personal and banking details is essential. Never disclose them to any unauthorised person.
People who have received a call of this kind or are concerned by the intent of unsolicited calls, emails or lettered are being asked to report it to Action Fraud via its website or by phoning 0300 123 2040.
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I’m not a Shinnerbot, whatever bottoms have to do with being a Shinner I don’t know, but I think on an island this small 1 railway company is ample. Also while you’re on the subject I’d love a United Ireland. So bingo to you Ciarán. ;)
Shinnerbot?
Aye whatever, but just to entertain you you here’s a map of the current rail network, as you can see the entire border region with the exception of louth is sans rail services, this is most likely a result of partition and lazy Irish government.
Cross border rail my eye.
west on track has been pushing the sligo-galway-limerick re-opening for years and struggling to get help from the government. the track is already there and there is demand for a western rail corridor re-opening but so far only part of it is operational. http://www.westontrack.com/
Definitely something needs to be done. When a ticket bought in Northern Ireland is about half the price for the same ticket bought in Dublin, there has to be something wrong with the way that the service is run
As far as I’m concerned anything that integrates the ROI further into the 6 Co’s is a good thing regardless of financial or other considerations. Its only a small thing but it will make the inevitable reunification run all the smoother. The more of these initiatives that link us with the North the better. Inch by Inch we can convince the unionists that it makes more sense to be 1 united country as is only right & proper. The more we integrate with the 6 Co’s the harder it will make for the unionists to resist reunification. After all “Money talks & Bullshit walk”
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