Bank of Ireland warns of new scam targeting business customers

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The Bank of Ireland has issued a warning about a new scam targeting its business customers. The bank alerted customers on Thursday, September 14, 2023, urging them to "never, ever" share authorization codes received on the BOI app with anyone.

Paul O’Brien from the Bank of Ireland’s fraud team explained the scam in detail on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. The fraudsters initiate a phone call, claiming to be from the bank. They direct the customer to a website under the guise of providing a live chat service or verifying their PC. In reality, clicking a link on that site allows the fraudster remote access to the customer's PC. Once access is granted, the fraudsters set up outgoing payments from the account using authorization codes the customer receives on their banking app.

O’Brien mentioned that similar scams have become more prevalent across Europe and the UK over the past month. He was unable to provide an estimate of how much Irish customers have lost due to these scams so far. He emphasized that the bank's priority is to ensure no one loses money, hence the issuance of this alert.

This warning comes just a day after Bank of Ireland issued another alert about an almost identical scam. On Wednesday, September 13, 2023, the bank advised customers to hang up if they receive a call from someone asking them to visit a website or click on a link. The bank noted that reports of this type of scam were increasing daily, primarily targeting business banking customers.

Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud at Bank of Ireland, expressed concern over these scams as they convincingly trick people into allowing access to their PCs via a fake 'live chat'. This access enables fraudsters to retrieve business customers' online banking details and other personal files and information.

In response to these increasing scams, Bank of Ireland is launching a major national fraud awareness campaign. A survey conducted by the bank revealed that 96% of consumers believe they will be targeted in the next six months, with 82% stating they are targeted at least once per month. Ms. Sadlier urged customers to exercise extra caution when logging into their online banking to ensure the site is legitimate.

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