Public warned over latest text scam offering 'discounted electricity bill'

A new scam message from fraudsters is taking advantage of the recent Budget announcments.

More and more people are getting scam text messages that claim to be from the Government, in relation to Budget 25 energy credits.

Speaking on air this Monday morning, Newstalk Breakfast's tech correspondant Jess Kelly explained how this new scam is "quite convincing" and can be hard for people to turn down.

The text messages all read something along the lines of "Gov IE – You’re eligible for a discounted electricity bill under the emergency benefits scheme,” she said.

People are then invited to follow a hyperlink, where they are asked to enter their bank details.

"What struck me about this one is that it shows how clever the scammers are because they're marrying two things together," said Jess.

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"They’re marrying people’s want for a bit of money alongside a similar sort of announcement that does actually exist – but when you click through to that URL, you’re brought to a website looking for your bank details, and if you input your bank details, you are going to lose money."

Have you received this scam message? @jesskellynt tells us about the latest scam making its way around the country pretending to be from https://t.co/jxVBDAyOxx

Watch now to find out how we can try to spot these scam messages, and the steps to take if you ever get scammed. pic.twitter.com/EQf9yJg1LV

— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) October 14, 2024

However, she said a sure sign of whether you've received a legit text from a government organisation is if the URL ends in .com or .ie.

“Maybe I’m one of the few people who would know this, but you know the Irish Government's websites don’t end in dot com, that’s just one of the things."

It's also unlikely that any service provider would send customers a click through link to their phone, Jess continued.

"If you are expecting a delivery, or if you’re expecting some form of contact from a service provider, go to the website directly – don’t click on a link – and log in that way," she said.

"If you’re still not sure please pick up the phone and call them. Yes, you’ll have to dance around automated menus and be on hold – but it’ll save you money."