{"id":485432,"date":"2026-06-06T01:20:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T01:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/485432\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T01:20:30","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T01:20:30","slug":"bank-of-ireland-customers-warned-over-scam-that-starts-with-a-simple-text","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/485432\/","title":{"rendered":"Bank of Ireland customers warned over scam that starts with a simple text"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bank of Ireland are advising customers and the general public to be particularly vigilant.\"File<\/p>\n

File photo of an ATM in Dublin city centre(Image: Gareth Chaney\/ Collins Photo Agency)<\/p>\n

Bank of Ireland has revealed that there has been an increase in bank impersonation scams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It found that there had been a significant increase in cases recorded throughout May and the pattern is continuing.<\/p>\n

The report found cases of fraudulent texts, suspicious or declined transactions and messages prompting customers to call a fraudulent phoneline.<\/p>\n

Bank of Ireland are advising customers and the general public to be particularly vigilant.<\/p>\n

They are urging customers to take simple steps to protect themselves.<\/p>\n

How do bank impersonation scams work?<\/p>\n

Customers receive a text message that appears to come from a trusted source, such as Bank of Ireland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The message typically references a suspicious or declined transaction and pressures the customer to respond or act quickly.<\/p>\n

The customer is often asked to call a phone number included in the message.<\/p>\n

When they call, they are connected to a fraudster posing as a member of the bank\u2019s fraud team.<\/p>\n

The caller sounds calm, professional and helpful, but will quickly create urgency. The fraudster convinces the customer to make a payment or give away banking details.<\/p>\n

Alternatively, customers are told their money is at risk and must be moved immediately to a \u201csafe account\u201d.<\/p>\n

However in reality, the \u201csafe account\u201d is controlled by the fraudster and the money is lost.<\/p>\n

In some cases, scam texts can even appear under trusted contact names stored in a customer\u2019s phone, making them even harder to spot.<\/p>\n

Head of Fraud at Bank of Ireland, Nicola Sadlier said: \u201cFraudsters use familiar brands and everyday transactions, and create a sense of urgency to respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most effective defence is a \u2018zero trust\u2019 approach. Pause and question any unexpected contact, even if it appears to come from your bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever rely on phone numbers or links provided in messages. Call your bank directly using a trusted number from its official website or the back of your card.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to protect yourself<\/p>\n

There are numerous ways to protect yourself.<\/p>\n

Firstly you can call your bank directly using a trusted number from its official website or the back of your card.<\/p>\n

TextChecker service – if you get a text that claims to be from Bank of Ireland but you are not sure if it\u2019s genuine, here\u2019s how to verify it:<\/p>\n

You can copy the text you wish to verify, paste into a new message and add the word CHECK before the text. (In the same text) Send to 50365.<\/p>\n

If you receive a suspicious text, email a screenshot to 365Security@boi.com and then delete the message.<\/p>\n

Bank of Ireland customers who believe they may have shared banking information should call the Bank of Ireland 24\/7 Freephone line immediately.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bank of Ireland are advising customers and the general public to be particularly vigilant. File photo of an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":339046,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7863,72,61,60,4578],"class_list":["post-485432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-bank-of-ireland","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-scams"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}