Beware of fraudsters during COVID-19 crisis warns O’Callaghan

Published on: 28 March 2020


Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Justice and Equality, Jim O’ Callaghan has urged the public to beware of fraudulent scams during the COVID-19 restrictions.

Deputy O’Callaghan said: “Criminals carrying out cybercrime attacks on organisations and individuals are using various malware packages to scam people. In many cases reported the scammers are targeting areas doing their most to help in the fight against this pandemic.

“Europol is expecting many new and modified frauds to emerge over the next few weeks and we must be aware of this and prepared to watch out for the warning signs. We need to make sure that elderly people are informed and aware of the dangers of these scammers.

“It was reported earlier this week that individuals in Co Kerry, wearing boiler suits were calling to homes pretending to be from the HSE, and offering fumigation services. It’s vital that the public are on alert for such scams and phone the gardaí if they are aware of such activity,” concluded Deputy O’Callaghan.