Fraudsters steal large amount of cash from elderly Limerick woman
A COUNTY Limerick woman was defrauded out of thousands of euro after she was targeted by fraudsters, gardai have revealed.
A number of recent incidents are being highlighted as gardai seek to raise awareness of the behaviour of such criminals.
In one case, a woman in her eighties from Abbeyfeale was targeted while another woman, aged in her sixties and from Pallasgreen was also the victim of fraud.
"Both cases are very similar, as both women believed that they were speaking to somebody from their banks. They were lead through a series of questions and in the end, they realised that money had been withdrawn from their accounts," said crime prevention officer Sergeant Ber Leetch.
One of the women lost over €800 while the other woman lost over €4,000.
"I think we should all have a conversation with our friends and family about this. I am concerned that all the advice now sounds like white noise and that people may not be cautious enough. We cannot assume that everybody has heard the advice from financial institutions or gardai about never sharing your bank account number or pin number with anybody," said Sgt Leetch.
The authorities are reiterating the message that banks will never ask for these details over the phone.