More than 260,000 credit and debit cards frauds, totalling €22 million in value, hit Irish people last year, leading gardai to warn people about the dangers of online shopping.
As part of Fraud Awareness Week gardai have said online transaction frauds were up 50pc in 2020 compared to 2019.
And with a large increase in online shopping due to Covid restrictions the amount of money being spent online is being taken advantage of by fraudsters who are constantly assessing what is in demand and what they can make money on most quickly.
Detective Inspector Mel Smyth of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) said there are three main types of victims in online fraud - a person who buys something and does not receive it, a person who sells something but gets no payment, and a financial institution when compromised cards or bank accounts are used to make online purchases.
Detective Inspector Mel Smyth of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) said there are three main types of victims in online fraud - a person who buys something and does not receive it, a person who sells something but gets no payment, and a financial institution when compromised cards or bank accounts are used to make online purchases.
“The biggest risk is in a person-to-person situation where you contact someone through social media or an online selling site and all you have is a phone number and a voice at the end of the phone,” he said.
“There is always a risk there in both buying and selling. And what looks like an Irish phone number might not actually be Irish at all but could be managed from abroad and made to look Irish.