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05th Aug 2022

Gardai warn public of the”Hi Mum” text scam now recirculating

Emily Mullen

Stay vigilant.

Gardaí are warning the public of a return of a scam which has cost victims thousands of euros.

Sergeant John Kelly from Fermoy Garda Station warned the public of the “Hi Mum” text scam while speaking to Patricia Messinger on C103’s CorkToday Show.

“We see it all the time,” Sergeant Kelly said.

“We saw another one the other day, the ‘Hi Mum’ text.

“They thought it was their son or daughter that was contacting them, that they needed cash put into an account and gave an account number.

“There was a couple of grand paid over.

“It’s not the first time that we’ve seen it.”

Kelly encouraged the public to stay vigilant and to share the information of the scam among friend groups and peers.

“The more people that we can get the information to, get them talking, and it will prevent a lot of it from happening.”

Last week, Gardaí warned the public of a bank card scam which was uncovered via an undercover sting.

A woman missed a phone call from a number that appeared to be the same as her bank’s card department.

As it turns out, the fraudsters in question had managed to replicate the phone number. On a second attempt, the woman answered and was told that the bank cards in her possession were compromised. She was then told to place her bank cards into an envelope for collection by a courier.

During this exchange, the woman’s son overheard the conversation. Suspicious, he opted to contact the local Garda Station. A taxi driver subsequently collected the envelope, whereupon he transported them, via plain-clothes Garda escort, to a man outside of the bank branch in Midleton.

In time, Gardaí approached the individual outside the bank, discovering that he was in possession of several bank cards.

This article originally appeared on Joe.ie. 

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