More than £1.2m lost to scammers in two months, police warn

People in Northern Ireland have lost more than £1.2 million to scammers in the last two months, police have revealed.

A senior officer has described the figure as “staggering”.

In March there were losses of close to £612,000, while during April losses were close to £690,000.

Chair of ScamwiseNI Partnership, Chief Superintendent Gerard Pollock said the staggering statistics illustrate how ruthless scammers are.

“Behind each loss, no matter the amount, is someone or a business owner who has been taken advantage of in the most despicable and callous way.

“For some, the impact is devastating.”

Mr Pollock said most of the scams have involved cryptocurrency in some form and most have started with a small investment initially, before snowballing into thousands.

He said they have been committed at distance, with criminals exploiting communication networks through phones, social media, emails or text messages.

Mr Pollock said: “Due to the advances in technology, criminals can now access people’s banking and personal data.

“Anyone can be targeted by a scam, and criminals will constantly change how they present their scam to lure people in.

“We know, however, what all scammers aim to do is access personal and financial details.

“The end goal is to get your personal details, such as your name, address, date of birth and who you bank with for your loss and their gain. This can then be used to commit a more sophisticated scam where the losses can be substantial.”

Police have highlighted five rules to try and stop scammers.

– Never click on links in text messages from someone you do not know;

– Never call or text suspicious numbers back;

– Never ever transfer money to someone you do not know or have not met;

– Always delete texts requesting personal or financial information or bank account details;

– Always forward scam texts to 7726 – the free scam text reporting service.