ALERT: Kilkenny residents targeted by fraudsters impersonating gardai

Kilkenny residents are being made aware of a scam doing the rounds where people are pretending to be members of An Garda Síochána asking people to download apps.

Gardai have been made aware of a number of people being contacted in these ‘phishing’ scam where the fraudsters try to get personal information from their victim.

In the latest phishing scam, the public being cold called by the scammers who maintain the are calling from the gardai or the Attorney General’s office.

Many of the calls have been coming from a phone number with a 083 prefix.

The scammers direct people to an automated calling system asking them to press numbers on their keypads to go to the next stage.

The person on the end of the phone is then asked to download an app, which gives scammers access to the victim’s personal bank details or PPS number.

A Garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí are warning the public in relation to recent attempted Phishing phone call incidents where the scammer(s) are impersonating members of An Garda Síochána as well as other organisations.

“The scammers aim to obtain personal information such as bank details and/or PPS numbers.

“Be wary of such calls. Do not engage, do not return the call and hang up on them.

“Never share personal information, never give out your PPS number, your banking details, personal pins or any data,” the spokesperson added.