Police have received over 200 reports of a deceptive messaging scam with the amount being stolen exceeding €100,000.

In a statement, police explained that they first began receiving reports of the scam in April, which sees scammers pose as companies and send out either a text message or email informing the victim that they have received a package.

Victims are then instructed to click on the link and pay a small administrative fee for this package to be delivered to them.

Fraudsters have also managed to maximize recent changes in the postal service because of Brexit, imposing custom tariffs on the administrative fee. 

Once the victims click on a link provided, they are presented with a fake website imitating the postal operator and the victims are asked to enter sensitive details, like credit card details and passwords. The administrative fee is usually a  small amount of money of about € 1.60. However, fraudsters immediately use this information to take a much larger amount.

Scammers have also tricked victims into providing their credentials by notifying them of a  “suspicious transaction”, asking them to click on a link to verify the transaction in question. When victims click on the link, a fake website is set up designed to steal the details of the victims.

To avoid falling victim to the scam, police have urged the public to not rush in handing out private information of suspicious links. Customers should not follow any links contained in the email but visit the genuine website of the postal operator or bank that is publicly known.

People who receive any SMS or emails requesting them for such information should contact the company directly by phone, email or social media.

If you do fall victim to such a scam, contact your bank immediately and file a report with the police.