Be vigilant against scams this festive season

In the run up to Christmas, there can be an increase in scam calls and text messages. So, we advise consumers to be vigilant. Scammers typically increase their attempts to impersonate delivery services, government agencies and other businesses at this time of year.

Some of the warning signs to look out for, are that the sender may be pretending to be from:

• your parcel delivery provider
• your bank or utility provider
• someone who you know personally.

Some tips to help you:

1. Be wary of texts from unknown numbers, even if they appear to be Irish
2. Avoid clicking on links
3. Do not send money
4. Never share personal information
5. Don't reply to unknown contacts.

We have more information on scam calls and texts along with advice on handling suspicious messages.

What we are doing:

To help protect customers from scam calls and text messages, we are working with the telecoms industry to put in place safeguards to make it harder for fraudulent calls and texts to be sent to you.

ComReg mandated a number of interventions on the industry it regulates in April 2024- see ComReg document 24/24. These interventions, also known as anti-scam measures, were developed following years of collaboration and discussions with the telecommunications industry. The goal is to reduce scam calls and text messages and restore trust in voice and SMS (text) services. The overall benefit of these measures, when implemented by industry, is expected to amount to approximately €1 billion over 7 years in addition to the benefits to society of reducing scam calls and texts. The anti-scam measures will be put in place by the telecommunications industry by the end of 2025.

For further information, visit our nuisance communications website page.

Some tips we give businesses, to help them protect you from scams:

1. Do not request personal details from customers by text or email
2. Publish business contact details on the website and specify contact methods with customers (phone, email or text)
3. Detail how customers can verify communications are genuine
4. Add any outbound-only numbers to the Do Not Originate (DNO) list to protect against scammers using the numbers. Details on the DNO service at comreg.ie/dno.

A tool to help you:

Visit FraudSMART's online scam checker tool at www.ScamChecker.ie where you can enter a website link to check for risks.

What you can do:

If you suspect fraud, contact your bank and report it to your local Garda Station immediately.