VICTIMS OF FRAUD are being re-targeted by criminals in what is known as “recovery scams”.
FraudSMART, a fraud awareness initiative led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), is alerting the public of the new trend, with a particular warning being issued to those over 50.
The public has been advised to be on alert to investment scams, especially among those who have already been scammed.
Niamh Davenport, Head of Financial Crime with BPFI, explained that those aged 50 and over are being targeted because these people may be most likely to be “looking for an opportunity to top up their finances ahead of retirement”.
She added that fraudsters are using “deceptive and elaborate techniques”, including using the names and branding of well-recognised banks and investment firms.
Some fraudsters will also create a ‘copy-cat’ profile on social media of a real employee from an investment firm in an attempt to convince people of their legitimacy.
Davenport also noted that there is a “worrying trend” of fraudsters contacting people who have already been scammed.
These fraudsters say they will recover the money that was lost in the scam for an upfront fee, which scammers sometimes describe as a ‘retainer fee’ or ‘processing fee’.
The recovery scam often comes from the same criminals behind the original scam, or the victim’s personal information will have been passed on or sold to other criminals.
The fraudster, using the information from the previous scam, can tell the victim about the earlier fraud, which can make them sound credible.
There have been cases where people have been targeted through online and social media ads and losses from these scams range from €1,000 to €10,000.
In one case example provided by FraudSMART, a man invested €80,000 of his life savings into what he believed was a real investment scheme.
He had researched investment opportunities online but clicked on a search option that turned out to be a fraud.
After inputting his contact details, he was persuaded to make a series of payments to an “investment account” and received regular follow-up emails.
However, when the final payment was made, the emails ceased and the victim realised it was a fraud.
Six months later, the man received a cold call which claimed to be from a “refund recovery firm” and he was told that he could retrieve the lost scam money for an “administration fee” of €8,000.
He paid this fee and later became suspicious when he didn’t receive a response from the so-called “refund recovery firm”.
His case is currently under investigation.
Davenport warned people to be “cautious of adverts online and on social media platforms, even if they are paid or sponsored ads using familiar brand or business names”.
“Pause for thought and contact the company independently to verify the details,” said Davenport.
“Don’t trust cold calls, text messages, letters, emails, or messages on social media from someone who says they can recover money you lost in a scam for a fee, this simply isn’t true.”
She advised anyone who thinks they have been the victim of a scam to report it to their bank and to gardaí immediately.
The warning comes as gardaí reveal that close to €60 million was taken from victims of investment fraud over the past four years.
It is now the highest grossing form of crime in Ireland and there was a 90% increase in reports of this type of fraud last year.
“Always seek professional advice before making any investments and if an offer sounds too good to be true, then unfortunately it probably is,” said Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau.
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