{"id":632035,"date":"2026-09-22T03:02:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T03:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632035\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T03:02:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T03:02:23","slug":"donegal-gardai-warn-of-fake-bank-text-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/632035\/","title":{"rendered":"Donegal Gardai warn of &#8216;fake bank text&#8217; scam"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gardai in Donegal have warned the public about a &#8216;fake bank text&#8217; scam, in which one victim was defrauded of \u20ac75,000.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said the ongoing scam in &#8216;happening right now&#8217; and in one week alone, seven known victims were defrauded of approximately \u20ac150,000.<\/p>\n<p>Victims receive a text claiming they have an outstanding direct debit payment.<\/p>\n<p>They are also urged to call a phone number immediately to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n<p>When the victim calls the number provided, someone &#8216;very polished and professional&#8217; answers.<\/p>\n<p>This tricks them into trusting that they are speaking to actual bank staff.<\/p>\n<p>The scammer then convinces them to hand over online banking logins, approving a two-factor authentication prompt.<\/p>\n<p>Or, they are asked to set up a cryto account, where money can be &#8216;safely&#8217; transferred.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-sans font-semibold text-xl md:text-[30px] leading-9 text-primary w-full\">\n        You may also be interested in\n    <\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/news\/marty-whelan-celebrates-hall-of-fame-award-in-donegal-650645\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"Marty Whelan celebrates Hall of Fame Award in Donegal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790046142_796_marty-whelan-celebrates-hall-of-fame-award-in-donegal.jpg\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"Marty Whelan celebrates Hall of Fame Award in Donegal\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.donegaldaily.com\/lifestyle\/a-time-to-remember-as-donegal-hospice-hosts-annual-remembrance-service-650619\" class=\"block w-2\/5 shrink-0\" aria-label=\"A time to remember as Donegal Hospice hosts annual remembrance service\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790046143_163_a-time-to-remember-as-donegal-hospice-hosts-annual-remembrance-service.jpg\" class=\"max-w-full w-full h-full object-contain relative z-10\" width=\"150\" height=\"84\"  alt=\"A time to remember as Donegal Hospice hosts annual remembrance service\" \/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>The scammer then drains their savings in minutes.<\/p>\n<p>The scammer then moves the money quickly by withdrawing it, or exchanging it for cryptocurrency and moving it.<\/p>\n<p>Gardai urged people to remind their loved ones that their real bank will never ask for passwords or logins over the phone.<\/p>\n<p>If in doubt, hang up and call the number on the back of your bank card.<\/p>\n<p>Gardai said that fraudsters are targeting older generations, in particular, in this scam.<\/p>\n<p>The Garda National Cybercrime Bureau has the following advice:<\/p>\n<p>Always be wary of unsolicited call or texts and never share personal details.<\/p>\n<p>Do not open a crypto account or wallet on someone else\u2019s instruction.<\/p>\n<p>Never transfer your savings on the promise of guaranteed returns or under the pretense of new account.<\/p>\n<p>Do not grant someone remote access to your computer or electronic devices.<\/p>\n<p>Talk to someone you trust or meet in-person with your bank or credit union before moving money.<\/p>\n<p>If you believe you\u2019ve engaged with such a scam, please contact your local Garda station.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gardai in Donegal have warned the public about a &#8216;fake bank text&#8217; scam, in which one victim was&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,61,60],"class_list":["post-632035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632035","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=632035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}