Fraud warning: 'Do not click on the links!'

Two hundred and forty six fraud deception crimes have been reported to gardaí in County Monaghan so far this year, with 75 reports recorded in the third quarter of 2026 alone.

Superintendent Pat O’Connell informed last week’s meeting of the County Monaghan Joint Policing Committee of the statistics and sent out a strong message to members of the public who receive suspicious or unsolicited messages by phone or email: “Do not click on the links.”

Supt O’Connell said many of the reports received were referrals from banks as well as from injured parties directly affected by clicking on a link in a text message or email.

“The clear advice is that, if you receive an unsolicited text message or electronic message of any form from a source you do not identify, do not click on links or provide personal data or information because you will find yourself or your bank account compromised,” he emphasised.

He said phone text messages of this nature are generated from random numbers that originate and disappear quickly. The Gardaí have a co-ordinated approach in assessing such fraud incidents through their crime unit and many are caught in time.

“Banks are quite good at contacting people directly if they have a query about a payment and that is encouraging,” the senior Garda told the meeting.

PUBLIC MEETING

Co-ordinator Barry Eaton revealed that a presentation on protection against online fraud will be given by AIB Cyber Awareness Leads John Haren and Audrey Doherty to a public meeting of the Local Community Safety Partnership in the St Joseph’s Pastoral Centre in Monaghan Town on December 10 at 10:30am.

Monaghan County Council Director of Services Nicola Payne referred to the success of a recent event in Doohamlet Community Centre to make older people in the area aware of how to protect themselves against online fraud.