Cork company loses €50k to invoice fraud as cases rise in Cork city

FRAUD in Cork city has risen by almost 10% in the past year. CSO figures for 2020 showed that there were 348 fraud reports received by gardaí last year — up from 317 the previous year.

Among recent Cork cases is the loss of €50,000 by a company in an invoice redirect fraud late last year. 

The case, which is still under investigation, involved an employee receiving an email, which they believed was from their employer, requesting payment be made to a new account for an outstanding invoice. 

A second request was later made then for a figure of around €70,000, at which stage the employee flagged the request to management.

A separate Cork case under investigation arose after a person was duped out of more than €30,000 in an investment fraud. 

The victim had been offered a chance to invest in cryptocurrency, with a promise of a high return. Bank details for the deposit of the profits from the investment were given to the scammers who used them to withdraw over €30,000 from the account.

Gardaí issued the following advice:

• If it is too good to be true, it probably is 

• Do your own research and be wary of wild claims 

• Always seek independent financial and legal advice before making any investments 

• Check the various registers on the Central Bank of Ireland’s website 

• Use regulated investment firms where possible (Virtual assets are not currently regulated in Ireland) 

• Do not respond to unsolicited approaches or cold-calls 

• Don’t click on links for websites that you don’t know 

• NEVER EVER disclose your bank account passwords or codes 

• NEVER allow anyone remote access to your computer