BPFI head of financial crime Niamh Davenport said: 'Be alert for fake emails and social media ads offering holiday deals which appear to be offering bargain prices but are in reality too good to be true.' Photograph: Tero Vesalainen/Alamy/PA
According to new data from a banking umbrella group, fraudsters stole almost €100 million from Irish consumers last year – an increase of 16 per cent on 2022.“We can all be at risk of being enticed by ‘unbelievable’ holiday deals and letting down our guard when out of our regular routines and environments,” said the BPFI’s head of financial crime, Niamh Davenport.‘Bank of Ireland’s 365 service should be called 248.
She urged people to be cautious when booking travel, accommodation and other holiday-related purchases, such as eating out. She said people needed to “watch out for copycat websites offering holiday accommodation and packages which closely mimic a legitimate site or well-known company brand but may have subtle differences in the website name and often have spelling errors”.According to the payment fraud report from the BPFI published on Thursday morning, €98.6 million was lost by Irish people to fraudsters last year.