Scammers pretending to be gardai and telling people their computer will be seized in bogus email con

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Gardai have warned of a rise in a type of scam where devious fraudsters are posing as gardai and telling people their computers will be seized.

The new scam being circulated by the devious fraudsters sees an email being sent to an individual stating their computer is to be seized by gardai in relation to investigations into issues such as child pornography, paedophilia, cyber pornography or sex trafficking.

In a statement, gardai said they were advising the public that they will never contact a person under investigation in this way.

Read more: Scammers targeting Irish bank users as gardai issue warning

A garda spokesman said in a statement: “We would urge anybody who has received similar correspondence and has any concern about it to contact their local garda station for advice.”

Gardai are also urging anyone who may have inadvertently engaged with this scam, or any similar scam, to report it to their local garda station

In the statement, gardaí said they would like to remind the public of the following fraud prevention advice:

  • Don’t respond to any unsolicited email seeking personal, financial or security advice
  • Never click on a link or attachment in an unsolicited email
  • If you believe the email is from a genuine source, verify this independently
  • Independently verify any requests for information and never use the contact details supplied to you by the caller or texter

More tips and advice on fraud prevention can be found here

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