A Carlow councillor says vigilance is key in battling cybercrime.
It’s as many continue to be out of pocket after getting caught out by one of the many, various scams doing the rounds.
Figures released by Gardaí this week reveal more than €22million was stolen from people through smishing or phishing scams last year.
Cllr Michael Doran who chairs the Joint Policing Committee in Carlow has this reminder for locals “People need to be very vigilant regarding cybercrime, we’re all familiar with the bogus emails and, I suppose, fraudulent messages that people are getting, it’s vitally important that people do not convey their personal details, banking details in particular, over the internet, any genuine site does not look for banking details and passwords so it’s very important that people are vigilant”.
He adds that many picking up their phone are dealing with a range of potential problems; “Lately cold calling on telephone calls is becoming increasingly popular and people should be extremely vigilant there, criminals are now targeting family names, family connections, that they send out messages to say that their family members are in trouble and send details so always double-check before handing over any money”.
