Local Gardaí are renewing warnings over online scams after €8,000 was stolen from people in Longford and Roscommon last week.
Over the last week, one victim in the Castlerea area was conned out of €5,000 after he purchased an item on Facebook from Spain.
The item was due to be transferred to Lithuania before a final payment of €5,000 was to be paid, however, the seller ceased all contact and the item never arrived.
Separately in Longford, a man was the victim of the ongoing E-Flow scam, where the injured party receives a text message claiming that they are required to pay a missed motorway charge.
Having travelled on the M50 the day previous, the victim believed the text to be legitimate and entered banking details, with €3,000 withdrawn from his account a day later.
Crime Prevention Officer with the Roscommon Longford Garda Division, Sergeant Damien Bartley, has warned people that scams are getting more and more convincing:
'Look closely at any website before you use your card. Are there any typos or grammar errors?
Is the site poorly designed or does it have a good return policy? If anything looks unusual, this should be a red flag that you may be on a scam website.
Don't complete your transaction if you're unsure. Never click on links that you receive in a text message, even if it appears that has come from a person or business you know.
Fraudsters can send messages that appear to come from a trusted source.'
