Allied Irish Banks (AIB) has urged its customers to remain vigilant amid a rise in so-called “taxi-scam” fraud, RTE reported.
The scam involves a visit by a taxi driver or courier supposedly sent by the bank to collect their card. The warning comes as a number of cases have been reported where scammers instructed customers to leave their cards under door mats for collection.
The scam starts with a fraudulent text claiming to be from a bank or other business, prompting customers to click a link. Believing the text is genuine, customers provide personal, login, and card details on a fraudulent site. They then receive a follow-up call from someone claiming to be from their bank, informing them their card is compromised and needs to be collected, sometimes asking for the PIN as well.
A taxi driver or courier then arrives to collect the card, with some customers mistaking them for legitimate bank staff. The stolen card is subsequently used for ATM withdrawals or payment fraud.
“Fraudsters are becoming more and more sophisticated, and we have seen an increase in the number of cases of this kind of taxi or courier scam in recent weeks,” said Mary HcHale, AIB’s Head of Financial Crime.
McHale emphasised that AIB will never ask customers to hand over their bank card or PIN.
AIB assured that scammed customers will be dealt with sympathetically on a case-by-case basis.
The bank also advised customers to avoid clicking on suspicious links and to verify the legitimacy of any communication before responding.