“Forensic examination”: How fraudsters start a complex bank card fraud with an SMS

Scammers use a complex text scam to trick people into handing over their bank cards and telling them they’re needed for “forensic testing.”

ardaí warn the public of a worrying scam that not only illegally purchases credit cards, but also uses innocent people to collect those cards.

People are being urged to be wary of text messages that appear to be from their bank but contain a link.

Real banks will never ask a customer to click a link in a text message, or ask for their PIN number or online banking details.

Through this scam, scammers obtain personal information from victims because after clicking the link, they are asked to enter their phone number and log into their bank account.

With that information, they then call the victim pretending to be from the bank’s fraud department and convincing the victim that their account is compromised and their bank card is needed by the bank for “forensic testing” or some other reason.

Then they tell the victim that they are sending a third party to collect their card, which they asked to put in an envelope.

The scammer often phones the victim when the third party arrives to encourage them to deliver the envelope.

According to the Gardaí, this third person is also usually innocent and may have been contacted via social media and asked to collect the envelope from the victim and deliver it to an agreed address, usually near a bank.

They are met on foot by a person who takes possession of the card and then uses it to withdraw cash and transfer money from the victim’s account.

A Garda spokesman said this type of fraud resulted in the theft of “very significant sums of money from victims’ bank accounts”.

Gardaí warns people never to click links in an unsolicited text message, never give out their PIN number, one-time use codes, or online banking details/passwords.

They also say never to act on advice or instructions given to you during a junk call, never download an app on the instruction of a junk call, and never give your bank card to anyone else.