Kilkenny residents conned by fraudsters claiming to be gardai

Kilkenny gardaí are once again appealing to the public to be aware of a phone scam in which fraudsters pretend to be calling from a local garda station.

A number of people locally have fallen victim of the scam, called ‘Caller ID spoofing’ – the practice of causing a telephone network to indicate to the receiver of a call that the call is from a genuine source.

A local Garda spokesperson said: “Recent incidents reported to gardaí involve the caller informing the victim that their name has been used by someone caught committing a crime.

“In order to have proceedings stopped they need to pay a sum of money. The caller indicates that a call will come from a named garda at a named Garda Station.

“The victim then receives a call from what appears to be the genuine phone number for the named Garda Station, however, this is not the case.

“The scammer has used spoofing software that causes the telephone network to indicate to the receiver of a call that the call is coming from a Garda Station and not the true destination,” the spokesperson added.