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Bank of Ireland warning of spike in ‘safe account’ scam

Bank of Ireland is warning customers about a dramatic increase this week in reports and cases of an attempted ‘safe account’ scam. Customers should be on particular alert for fraudulent texts that attempt to lure them into to calling a fake ‘bank’ phoneline – where the account holder is then duped into transferring funds to their secondary account, in most cases Revolut, and in turn a ‘safe account’, which is controlled by a fraudster.

Reports of the scam to Bank of Ireland’s fraud line and Text Checker service have been on the increase since the start of the year and this week have shown an alarming increase, with daily reports this week over 10 times the number of those reported weekly in April and May.

How it works:

Customer gets a text message to their phone, requesting that they call a phone number about a suspicious transaction/or activity.

The texts claim to be from Bank of Ireland and can drop into the thread of a genuine BOI text: “Did you login from a new device?”; “Do you recognise this transaction?”; or “A transaction for [value] to [merchant] was declined and your card has been placed on hold“ – followed by “if this was not you / if you don’t recognise this / etc. please call us back on [callback phone number].
Callback numbers are usually landline numbers including 01 / 1800 / regional codes.
The callback number will be answered by someone claiming to be from Bank of Ireland, and that there has been suspicious transactions and the customer’s account is compromised.
The victim is then asked if they have a Revolut / or other secondary account. If they say yes, they are told that they should move all the money in their BOI account into their own Revolut account/ or secondary account. The fraudster doesn’t ask for access to the customer’s account, and do not ask for any security details like PIN’s or codes – avoiding common ‘red flags’ associated with fraud.
The victim is then told they then need to move their money from their Revolut account to a new ‘safe’ account.

Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud, Bank of Ireland said: “We have been seeing a concerning pattern in the increase of this type of fraud. This week’s escalation has resulted in the highest number of reports in a single day of this particular type of fraud, so we need our customers and the general public to be vigilant and recognise the warning signs. Our main advice is to look out for these texts and do not call back. And remember that Bank of Ireland will never ask you to move your money to another account to keep it safe. If you think you have been a victim of fraud, call the bank’s fraud team immediately on the 24/7 freephone line 1800 946 764”.

What Bank of Ireland customers can do

If in doubt, call your trusted numbers, phone number on back of your physical card or from phone contact details in your mobile App.

Sample fraudulent text messages: or search site more videos and more samples we provided with scams

Power Capital Renewable Energy, in partnership with AIB, Bank of Ireland and Societe Generale, has successfully completed a project finance round to develop approximately 300MW of solar farms across Ireland

Power Capital Renewable Energy, in partnership with AIB, Bank of Ireland and Societe Generale, has successfully completed a project finance round to develop approximately 300MW of solar farms across Ireland.

This agreement secures facilities of nearly €220M to support the development of seven projects ranging in size from 6.5MW to 153MW.

The combined production of this portfolio will generate enough electricity to power over 70,000 homes per year.

All projects were awarded a tariff under the Department of Environment, Climate & Communication’s second Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS 2) in 2022.

Projects have commenced construction and are set to be completed and operational in 2026, contributing significantly to the government’s goal of generating 80% of Ireland’s energy from renewable sources by 2030.

As part of the RESS 2 scheme, local communities will benefit from a contribution of €2 per MWh throughout the duration of the program.

Power Capital already has 230MW of fully operational projects since 2024 and continues to expand its portfolio, with an additional 400MW secured under the RESS 3 and RESS 4 schemes.

Power Capital: Justin Brown CEO says: “We have dedicated nearly 12 months to this transaction, encompassing seven solar projects across multiple counties and collaborating with various construction and finance teams to achieve a successful outcome. This is an outstanding achievement for Power Capital, our team and everyone involved. We are very excited to build on this success and advance our RESS 3 & 4 portfolio later this year.”

AIB: Jim Arigho Director, Climate Capital says: “The rollout of utility scale solar energy generation is a vital component in Ireland meeting its Climate Action targets and complements wind energy generation. This financing is a milestone on that journey and AIB is delighted to work with the Power Capital team again in helping Ireland make the transition to a more sustainable future.”

Bank of Ireland: Michael Lauhoff, Head of Specialist Banking, Corporate & Commercial commented: “Bank of Ireland is delighted to support Power Capital in reaching this important milestone. The debt package will finance the delivery of a scaled and diversified portfolio of solar assets which will directly contribute to decarbonising Irish energy. As a long-term financier of Irish renewables, the provision of capital to the sustainable energy market is a key strategic ambition for Bank of Ireland and we are proud to be part of these exciting projects.”

Societe Generale said: “Societe Generale is delighted to support the development of Power Capital, one of the leading Irish renewables developers, and have worked alongside Power Capital, AIB, and Band of Ireland since the start to bring the financing to a successful close. The portfolio of solar farms could contribute towards Ireland’s 2030 renewable generation targets and the development of renewable assets in the country.”

Bank of Ireland warns about potential Brexit-themed business fraud. #Fraud #Brexit

As Brexit uncertainty continues and businesses prepare for change from December 31^st, Bank of Ireland is advising businesses to be on increased alert against fraudsters capitalising on vulnerability during this period. The Bank is advising businesses to be on high alert to the practice of business email compromise, where a company’s email is compromised resulting in a range of types of financial fraud including ‘invoice redirection’ and ‘CEO fraud’. Businesses are urged to treat any requests to change bank account details or transfer funds with extreme caution, and, as a matter of course, to verbally check any such requests with a known contact at a known number every time. If you are looking to prepare your business for Brexit, then please visit bondandco.ie/b/ready-for-brexit/

In the second half of 2020 a business email fraud ‘near-miss’ was intercepted by the Bank of Ireland fraud team along with An Garda Síochána and funds to a value of €2.1M were recovered. Another business was on the brink of losing €1.1m when their emails were compromised in an attempted fraud but, due to the actions of the bank’s fraud teams, the majority of the funds were recovered. While average values of these frauds are lower, it is a persistent problem with the bank’s fraud teams acting on reports of two to three cases of this type of fraud per week.

Invoice Redirection fraud is where fraudsters pretend to be a supplier or service provider in order to trick employees into changing bank account payee details. A common tactic is to tell the business that their bank account details have changed and for all payments to be sent to a new account, controlled by the fraudster.

What to look out for:

The fraudsters may write to a company’s finance or payments department either on forged headed paper or by email, pretending to be a supplier.
Typically, they will tell the business that their account details have changed.
The payee account may be located either in Ireland or overseas.
The fraudster may ask an employee to either send a pending payment to the new account or, alternatively, to ensure that all future payments are sent to the new account.

CEO impersonation fraud, is a type of fraud where the fraudster pretends to be a senior executive from the victim’s organisation. An email is sent to an employee to try to trick them into doing something, like making a payment to either an existing or new client or supplier.

What to look out for:

The fraudster will try to pressurise a member of staff into acting quickly and without thinking.
The fake emails are well crafted, can be sent from compromised email accounts and may look like they have come from a senior executive at the company in question.
Typically, the fraudster instructs the staff member to make an urgent high value payment to a supplier or creditor, and usually includes the payee details, including the IBAN.
Often the payee account is located overseas.

Edel McDermott, Head of Fraud at Bank of Ireland commented: “We know that fraudsters thrive in periods of change or uncertainty for business, where attention may be focussed on other priorities. Brexit will bring considerable change to many companies, including new procedures relating to customs or changes in arrangements with vendors or customers. Business email fraud at any time has the potential to have a devastating impact on business. We are urging business not to drop their guard against email scams over the coming period. Training staff on the warning signs and the basic steps to take will safeguard business against these avoidable losses. If every business followed a simple step that a request to change account details or to make a payment was always verbally checked with a known contact, at a known phone number, the majority of this type of fraud would be stopped.”

Bank of Ireland’s advice to business:

Be skeptical of urgent requests that do not follow typical company procedures and policies.
Establish a documented internal process for requesting and authorising all payments. You may need to review existing internal procedures.
Consider how your business issues and accepts payment instructions. Email is not considered a secure means of communication unless encrypted.
Always verify that the email is from the real sender. Phone numbers quoted in the suspicious email should not be trusted; verify the contact internally or at a known phone number, before making any payment.
Under no circumstances should contact details contained in the email or attachments be relied upon to verify the request whether these consist of a physical address, an email address or a phone number.
Notify the Bank immediately if you receive a suspicious email relating to payments or if you think you have been the victim of fraud. The sooner customers notify Bank of Ireland the better the chance of tracing and recovering funds.

Visit https://www.bankofireland.com/security-zone/protect-your-business/ for examples of business fraud and for advice on how to protect your business.

Bank of Ireland is committed to building awareness around fraud. Bank of Ireland will continue to focus on the issues around fraud, through the Bank’s own channels and by working collaboratively through the Bank and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) FraudSMART campaign www.fraudsmart.ie

Bank of Ireland Fraud Alert: Think outside the box and beware of parcel fraud. #Parcels #Fraud #Smishing

Bank of Ireland has issued an advisory to consumers today to be extra vigilant against parcel fraud in the peak Christmas shopping and online delivery period. With the seasonal upsurge in parcel delivery, the Bank has noted a high volume of calls from customers reporting fraudulent activity via ‘smishing’ texts where fraudsters send fake messages claiming to be from recognisable delivery companies.

These ‘smishing’ texts will ask a customer to follow to a link to a fraudulent payment site that will, for example, ask customers to pay a small customs charge or confirm details. The branding on these texts and the destination website will be of one of a household name delivery company like UPS, DPD or An Post. We have covered many of these here before if you search you will get an idea what to watch out for. Here is one example

Edel McDermott, Head of Fraud at Bank of Ireland said; “The middle of the busiest shopping period of the year is an obvious time for fraudsters to target consumers. People may be distracted and have less available time to stop, think and check the details on a text and simply reply ‘automatically’ to a company they recognise. There’s also a good chance that consumers will have bought something online recently so are more likely to think the text is genuine and click one of the fraudulent links currently in circulation. If they do, they will be brought to a website where they are asked to give their Credit or Debit card details. The message here is simple: no matter how busy you are, always pause before replying or clicking on a link and take the time to independently check whether a text is legitimate, even if it appears to be from a familiar brand or company. And never disclose confidential banking details”.

Reminders to consumers:

Always think before you click: Does this text refer to a legitimate delivery that you are expecting?
Do not respond to or click a link in an unsolicited text, even if it appears to be from a company that you recognise. Always check independently that the text is genuine.
Do not use a phone number given to you in the text.
Never disclose confidential banking details or security details such as your any digits from your PIN or online password.

Bank of Ireland customers who think they have been the victim of this type of fraud, should contact the Bank as soon as possible: https://www.bankofireland.com/security-zone/report-fraud/

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