'Watch out' - Irish holidaymakers warned as €100m stolen by online scammers

Holidaymakers across Ireland have been warned to be vigilant of online scams as it was revealed that almost €100 million was stolen by fraudsters in 2023.

According to FraudSMART, the figures represent an increase of 16% from the previous year with the majority of fraud transactions being perpetrated through credit and debit card payments.

Head of Financial Crime at the Banking and Payments Federation Ireland Niamh Davenport said,

"As many people look forward to the summer holidays ahead, today's figures are a timely reminder to be on alert for credit and debit card fraud.

"We can all be at risk of being enticed by 'unbelievable' holiday deals and letting down our guard when out of our regular routines and environments.

"While it is important to recognise that cards remain one of the safest forms of payment, as they come with extensive fraud protections and offer many conveniences especially when planning holidays and travelling, fraudsters are increasingly targeting consumers using complex and deceptive methods."

While other forms of fraud had lower volumes but higher average losses than credit and debit card fraud, it was revealed that €33.8m came from unauthorised electronic transactions.

Businesses and consumers were scammed out of a whopping €18.1m through authorised push payment fraud as fraudsters scammed consumers into sending money directly to an account controlled by criminals.

"FraudSMART is urging holiday makers to take extra caution when booking travel, accommodation and other holiday-related purchases such as eating out", Niamh Davenport added,

"Watch out for copycat website offering holiday accommodation and packages which closely mimic a legitimate site of well-known company brand but may have subtle differences in the website name and often have spelling errors.

"These sites aim to steal your car details and personal information for fraudulent activities."