From love scams to fake cryptos, scammers are waiting to take advantage of you

Just €5,000 free him to hold him in your arms. Of course he doesn’t exist, the picture is from the internet and it’s more of a criminal gang. People get scammed, initially with small amounts.

Much is not reported out of shame. The safest assumption is that you’re not in a relationship unless you’ve met in person more than once (some scammers hire actors to Facetime calls). Never give up more than the price of a drink or dinner, and if they remain elusive, chances are they just don’t exist. A battered ego is better than a battered bank account.

It’s just one type of scam, but there are many others to watch out for.

college accommodation

An almost impossible task for many students. You find an ideal place online, come to view, it’s perfect! There is just the small matter of deposit. The landlord will insist on direct transfer and you send it over. The only problem is that you’re one of dozens who handed over money and the apartment actually belongs to someone else who has no idea what’s going on. It was rented by the scammer for the sole purpose of robbing you. Always make sure properties are listed with the Residential Tenancies Board.

This type of scam is also commonly used for fake vacation rentals by cloning legitimate websites like Airbnb. Clicking through an “offer” on a social media site can take you to a clone that looks exactly like the real thing. However, the property does not exist and you lose the “bargain” upfront payment you made. Always enter the URL yourself for a correct booking page.

crypto

MMPI Brokers’ Damien McCaughey says he’s seen many people duped by fake crypto purchases – as if genuine cryptos weren’t dubious enough already.

“It’s annoying because it’s cleverly done and the victims are carefully chosen. It can be very difficult to recognize that it is a scam.”

He names two cases: “The entrails, each worth 300,000 euros, were taken. People went online to buy bitcoin. You have been proactive, which lowers your alertness. The website looked legit, letters from CEOs and compliance officers, reviews from Trustpilot, all that. They started with a small amount, they were told it would make a big return, but more was needed. Of course, they didn’t buy bitcoin or anything like that. They never did.

“And when they realized they had been scammed, they got an ‘offer’ from a company to get the asset back. It turns out they were part of the scam, so they lost twice by paying them to “investigate”. These are often retired professionals, smart people who are losing their life savings. They don’t want to go to the guards because they’re so embarrassed.”

beauty/fitness

An ad for face cream, diet pills, or beauty products pops up on your social media feed. Better yet, it’s endorsed by a celebrity. Beauties like Miriam O’Callaghan or Rachel Allen maybe. If you can have her gorgeous skin, why not? Well, because it’s fake. Both TV presenters have found that their images have been used to promote products unrelated to them.

Ms O’Callaghan received an apology from Meta (Facebook) after she sued her earlier this year, but that didn’t stop thousands of unsuspecting women from buying a fake cream online. Worse, many are stung by recurring payments. After handing over their bank details to send a “free sample,” they then lost hundreds via direct debit.

engine

Fake NCT certificates, “ringed” cars, fake license plates or fake odometer readings. There’s no lengths a shady car salesman wouldn’t go to. Whilst you have strong consumer rights when buying from a garage, especially if they are a SIMI member (SMMT in the UK), when selling privately you have no rights at all. Worse, the car could be written off, salvaged from the junkyard, making it dangerous to drive. It could be two cars welded together (cut-and-shut) to form a death trap. Best advice is to get a full check (cartell.ie, motorcheck.ie) and preferably a mechanic to kick the tires.

phishing

Shock! Revenue, gardaí, a post office or your bank are after you. You need to make an urgent payment before your goods are confiscated or legal proceedings are instituted against you. It’s nothing more than a phishing scam; The aim is to separate you from your credit card or bank account details so that they can be used or cloned.

Because you gave them away voluntarily, it’s nearly impossible to prosecute or get your money back. You have not been hacked; you handed it over

Avoid becoming a victim of scams

Never click on links, messages, text or anything unsolicited that asks you to take action or insists on payment. It’s usually easy to check whether it’s a package, bill, invoice or other requirement that you need to take care of. Legitimate companies to whom you owe money rarely communicate this way, and for legal reasons a letter to your home address is far more likely.

Enter URL addresses for websites you want to visit or review yourself in a separate tab.

Buy larger ticket items like vacations with Visa or Mastercard. Your bank has a chargeback system, so funds spent on some fraudulent purchases can be reclaimed if they don’t arrive or are fraudulent.

Never give out your card or bank details voluntarily unless you initiated the purchase. PayPal is a far more secure payment method.

Always report a crime, even if you’re a little embarrassed about getting caught. Gardaí take it very seriously and it could help initiate an insurance or compensation claim.

When a deal is looking good, ask someone you trust what they think. Don’t get carried away by the bargain.

If you didn’t enter a competition, you didn’t win anything. If you haven’t bought something, there’s no package waiting for you. If you haven’t met your date yet, he or she may not exist. And as always, if it looks too good to be true, it most likely is.

Useful resources: www.garda.ie, www.fraudsmart.ie, www.ccpc.ie, www.eccireland.ie, www.citizensinformation.ie.