SCAMMERS HAVE BEEN impersonating gardaí over email in an attempt to scam schools.
Some fraudsters have even gone as far as writing emails in Irish in attempts to trick gaelscoileanna.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education told The Journal that the board of management has responsibility for taking all reasonable precautions to ensure the health and safety of school personnel and pupils and to put appropriate safeguards in place to mitigate against any potential risk to the school community.
An email to one gaelscoil had logos from the Irish government and An Garda Síochána, as well as a body of text written in broken Irish.
It told the reader: “Reply to us immediately. This is a 12-hour intensive time trial.
“After this deadline, we are obliged to send our report to the Honorable Judge Frank Clarke [the former Chief Justice] so that [he] can issue [his] arrest warrant and we will immediately arrest you and register you on the national sex offender registry.”
In a statement to The Journal, a spokesperson from the Garda Press Office said: “Gardaí are aware of a number of recent E-mail based scam/ fraud where an individuals or organisations receives correspondence claiming to be from An Garda Síochána.
“Gardaí are advising the public that An Garda Síochána does not and will not make contact with a person under investigation in this way.”
Gardaí advise never responding to unsolicited emails asking for personal, financial or security advice.
They also advise people not to click on links or attachments in such emails.
Recipients should report suspicious emails to their local garda station.
Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency, was recently made aware that some of their high ranking staff members were being impersonated by fraudsters over email and phone.
It wrote on its website: “We have been made aware of scams involving fake correspondence claiming to be from a number of departments at Europol, as well as from its Executive Director, other senior members of staff, and various international law enforcement officials.
“Emails and messages on social media, written in multiple languages, have been falsely using the names of senior Europol staff including Catherine De Bolle, Jean-Philippe Lecouffe, and Jürgen Ebner, in order to sound serious and legitimate.
“Scams have also been attempted via fake letters sent by third companies claiming to be acting on behalf of Europol.”
The agency told people not to trust such contact as “neither Europol nor any of its staff would ever directly contact members of the public requesting immediate action or threatening individuals with opening a criminal investigation”.
Europol does not issue fines or contact members of the public requesting payments.
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