A DONEGAL pensioner has spoken out about how he almost fell victim to a convincing scam that could have given fraudsters full access to his bank details and mobile phone.
Eamonn Mc Donnell (79) received a call from people purporting to be from a leading telecommunications provider.
Coincidentally, the call came after he himself had complained to his provider about slow internet speeds. He is now urging home-owners to be careful and said he is lucky not to have been caught out himself.
The Cloghan man told the Donegal News about the terrifying ordeal, which began when he received a phone call on his landline.
He initially felt reassured, as the callers appeared to know he had recently complained about slow internet speeds.
“They seemed to know that I had been on to them (his provider) recently to increase my internet speed.”
The caller, who gave his name as David, was ringing from an Irish number. He carried out what appeared to be routine checks, first asking Eamonn to examine his modem and count how many lights were showing and whether they were blinking or static. Nothing seemed unusual or raised any immediate concerns.
The caller then asked him to perform an internet speed test, prompting Eamonn to fetch his mobile phone. At that point, he still had no suspicions.
The test showed slow speeds, something Eamonn was already aware of, as he was awaiting fibre optic broadband to become available in his area.
“They told me they could increase the speed, and the next thing they asked me to do was download an app from the app store on my mobile called Quick Support.”
After downloading what he described as a legitimate-looking app, Eamonn recalls clicking ‘continue’ several times while the callers remained on the landline.
“Then an eight number code came up on the screen and I got a bit afraid then,” Eamonn said.
He tried to end the call but found he was unable to hang up.
“So I had to go to the wall and pull the lead out to cut them off completely.”
Eamonn then contacted his telecommunications provider, who immediately confirmed that the call had been a scam. What they explained to him left him shaken.
“Oh my, if I had just finished that and put in the code, they would have complete control of my mobile phone and I think that is really terrifying,” he said.
The app involved is a genuine screen-sharing application used for remote IT support, but not in circumstances such as this.
“I was very lucky – they would have been able to get into everything, like passwords, or maybe bank details.
“Of all the scams I’ve came across I thought this was the most devious.”
Eamonn remains baffled as to how the callers knew he was experiencing broadband issues.
“Maybe it was just by pure chance, but they had to know I was a customer. They were very clever.”
He is now speaking out in the hope of raising awareness about the increasingly sophisticated nature of scams and preventing others from falling victim.
Meanwhile, a crime prevention talk will take place this evening in Termon.
The talk will be given by Divisional Crime Prevention Officer, Sergeant Fergus McGroary, and takes place in Termon GAA Clubhouse at 7.30pm.
The event comes as gardaí are warning the public in relation to recent attempted fraud incidents where the scammer(s) are once again impersonating members of An Garda Síochána. During the scam phone call, the caller purports to be from An Garda Síochána, stating that an active warrant exists and the call recipient will be arrested at their homes if money is not paid.
If you have been the victim of this or any other type of scam, please contact your bank or financial institution immediately and also report the matter to gardaí.
