Athlone gardai issue warning on fraud
Gardai have issued a warning to the public after an Athlone woman’s bank card details were used to purchase goods in the UK without her consent.
The woman’s debit card details were used twice online in the past week. The woman did not use her card online and had only used it in shops in Athlone recently.
In one of the online incidents, the transaction amounted to €500, while the other was worth €400.
Gardai say they do not know how this happened and are investigating.
“We don’t know where the information was got,” said Athlone Sergeant Andrew Haran. “She only used her card in the Athlone area. She didn’t have her card stolen. The data was stolen,” he said.
Sgt Haran said that while crimes of this nature are sporadic rather than constant, the public should be aware of their existence.
“This can do a lot of damage,” said Sgt Haran.
As part of the garda investigation, the woman’s recent transactions will be examined, in an effort to discover where the data was stolen.
“It’s something people should be aware of every time they use their cards. They should be very, very careful to maintain their privacy,” said Sgt Haran.
The public tend to be vigilant when using pass machines, but should also be cautious when using bank cards in retail premises.
This alert follows a warning last month about an online scam after an email purporting to be from communications company Eir led to a person having €2,000 taken from their account.
The local person who was affected said they had received an email, pretending to be from Eir, which asked for bank card details to process payments correctly.
The person gave their details and €2,000 was taken out of their account on the same day. The bank contacted the person and the email was confirmed to be bogus.
Anyone with concerns should contact Athlone Garda Station on 090 64 98550, or any local Garda station.
The woman’s debit card details were used twice online in the past week. The woman did not use her card online and had only used it in shops in Athlone recently.
In one of the online incidents, the transaction amounted to €500, while the other was worth €400.
Gardai say they do not know how this happened and are investigating.
“We don’t know where the information was got,” said Athlone Sergeant Andrew Haran. “She only used her card in the Athlone area. She didn’t have her card stolen. The data was stolen,” he said.
Sgt Haran said that while crimes of this nature are sporadic rather than constant, the public should be aware of their existence.
“This can do a lot of damage,” said Sgt Haran.
As part of the garda investigation, the woman’s recent transactions will be examined, in an effort to discover where the data was stolen.
“It’s something people should be aware of every time they use their cards. They should be very, very careful to maintain their privacy,” said Sgt Haran.
The public tend to be vigilant when using pass machines, but should also be cautious when using bank cards in retail premises.
This alert follows a warning last month about an online scam after an email purporting to be from communications company Eir led to a person having €2,000 taken from their account.
The local person who was affected said they had received an email, pretending to be from Eir, which asked for bank card details to process payments correctly.
The person gave their details and €2,000 was taken out of their account on the same day. The bank contacted the person and the email was confirmed to be bogus.
Anyone with concerns should contact Athlone Garda Station on 090 64 98550, or any local Garda station.