Irish Water have issued a warning to customers about a wave of email phishing scams relating to the refund process.
It is reported that some customers have received emails purporting to be from Irish Water with the subject line ‘Your Irish Water Account – Action required’.
The emails may request customers to update personal or financial details.
Irish Water have said they would never ask customers to update personal banking information in this way and that customers should always delete emails requesting this information.
“Irish Water is advising anyone who receives these emails to delete them immediately. Do not reply or click on the link provided. Do not provide personal or financial details,” a spokesperson said.
The group has said that during the refund process in particular that attempts may be made to deceive customers with phishing emails. Additional resources have been put in place to try and reduce the risk of these campaigns.
A fraudulent site is said to be behind the current email scam, and Irish Water have said that they have requested the site to be shut down.
Irish Water has asked domestic customers who have moved property to contact them by phone on 1850 448 448 to update their details. Changes to customers’ personal details can only be updated by phone.
“Irish Water wishes to reassure customers that there has been no breach of Irish Water security systems. Customer details on Irish Water’s database are secure and have not been compromised,” the statement said.
“If you suspect that you’ve responded to a phishing email with personal information from this or any email, take the following steps to minimise any potential damage:
- Change the information you’ve revealed e.g. Change any passwords or PINs on the account or service that you think might have been compromised
- Contact your bank or the service provider directly
- Routinely review your bank and credit card statements for unexplained charges or enquiries that you didn’t initiate
- Contact the authorities. The Garda Bureau of Fraud investigation is Ireland’s national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.
“There is more advice on how to identify phishing emails and what to do next on Irish Water’s website https://www.water.ie/support/
