Cllr. Aengus O'Rourke warns of tax fraud phone calls

Cllr Aengus O'Rourke has warned people to be on the alert for bogus calls from someone saying they are from the Revenue Commissioners who then looks for credit card details.

"In recent weeks I spoke to a number of people who were contacted on their mobile phones by someone purporting to be from the Revenue Commissioners. In all cases they were asked for their credit card details because 'Revenue' had a tax refund for them.

"I spoke to revenue officials locally and they confirmed that they had a number of calls from the public about this matter. Revenue has become aware of a number of individuals who received phone calls from a person purporting to work in Revenue and demanding the immediate payment of a tax bill or stating that a criminal case is being taken against the individual, or that they had a rebate for the person and demanded their credit card number," he said.

"On Monday morning this week I received one of these calls. The call came from a Dublin number, the caller said his name was Tom and he was from Revenue and he just needed my credit card number in order to transfer a tax rebate of €740 to my account. He said the quickest way to do this was to lodge it to my Visa account and he asked for my card details. He sounded very believable and professional. I asked him to send me an email first detailing the basis for the tax refund. He said he would send me an email confirming the transaction once I had given him my card details. Knowing that this was a scam, I told 'Tom' that I was recording the conversation and that I would be informing the Gardai of his phone number. He hung up immediately," Cllr O'Rourke said, adding that he goes by the old saying that if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.

He advised If anyone receives a telephone call purporting to be from Revenue about which you have any doubts, particularly if the call is unexpected, you should contact your local Revenue Office on 1890 203070 or 01 7383663.
Anyone who mistakenly provides personal information in response to these types of fraudulent phone calls should contact their bank or credit card company immediately and also alert the local Gardaí.

"My advice to people is to never, ever give your bank account details or your credit card details to anyone calling you or emailing you that you do not know. Please also be aware of those collecting cash outside shopping centers or banks and busy areas in town, unless they have three things I would suggest people do not part with money: 1: official signage / branding, 2: a clearly visible photo identity badge with a recognised charity name on it and 3: a permit to collect (all collectors must have this)," he ended.