text arrest Man (20s) arrested in Dublin by gardai investigating ‘smishing’ scam

A man in his 20s has been arrested in Dublin by gardai investigating cyber offending online and ‘smishing’ scam. 

Officers attached to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) made the arrest in Ballymun on Thursday following a search operation by the bureau and detectives of the DMR South Central Unit.

Gardai said the raid was carried out under Operation Kryptos, which forms part of ongoing investigations into cyber offending online and the sending of bogus ‘smishing’ text messages to victims throughout the country.

‘Smishing’ is a type of scam used by fraudsters who send text messages to trick targeted recipients into clicking a link.

The GNECB has warned the public to be always wary of text messages, even if they are contained within the thread of previous genuine texts from a financial institution.

They also advise to never click on links – as by doing so you may be accessing cloned websites.

“If you’re expecting a delivery and receive such a text, be very careful,” gardaí add. “Banking institutions will never send a text containing a link.

“Our advice to people is not to respond to such texts, to take screenshots of the texts received and delete them and to report it to the bank or relevant company and local Garda station.

"Also, do not share personal details online."

The man who was arrested in Ballymun was detained under the provisions of Section 50 the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 at Ballymun Garda station and can be held for up to seven days.