Fraudsters targeting victims in Ireland are increasingly posing as bank officials rather than crypto promoters, the local press reported quoting police. Amid the growing trend, Irish investors have lost millions of euros to this type of schemes this year, with law enforcement authorities having recovered only a fraction.
Criminals Drop Crypto Frauds in Favor of Banking Scams
Cryptocurrency frauds are being replaced by scams in which criminals pose as representatives of reputable traditional banks, the Irish Independent revealed in an article. Investigators are working on multiple cases of fraud over fiat investments.
Nearly €20 million (over $21 million) have been stolen from Irish citizens in these online fraud schemes since January, of which officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) have managed to recover around €4 million, the report detailed.
While previously accounting for over 95% of the registered cases, crypto scams are no longer the most prominent type of investment fraud, investigators claim. A police source quoted by the newspaper explained:
In the last few months, what has become more and more common is that victims have been contacted often by phone or by email by fraudsters who are saying they work for legitimate, high-profile British banks or trading houses.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency has lost some of its popularity among investors due to major scandals and court cases, the person added, elaborating: “So inevitably the organized gangs behind this are changing tack and the evidence is that the banking scams are the way they are making the most money now in terms of investment fraud, which is absolutely massive at the moment.”
The organizers of the banking fraud schemes often set up fake websites offering investment products or clone real online platforms. Victims are pressured to act quickly or make an urgent payment, transfer funds directly or download software which drains their bank accounts.
Ireland is a participant in an international law enforcement operation led by Interpol which resulted in the arrest of 975 suspects worldwide last year and the recovery of over €123 million as well as the blocking of almost 2,800 bank and crypto accounts linked to online financial crime.
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