A marked rise in investment fraud in the Republic of Ireland led to the theft of 25 million euro from individuals last year.
The Gardai reported that a sum of 25,360,000 was pilfered in 2023, nearly equalling the total amounts stolen in 2021 and 2022, which were 14 million euro and 11.5 million euro, respectively.
Within the initial two months of this year, over 55 instances of investment fraud have been reported, twice the number of reports lodged in January and February of the previous year.
Alerts are being issued to individuals regarding culprits disguising as investment advisors and attempting to deceive them into pouring money into non-existent ventures and plans.
The Gardai affirm that advanced criminals are exploiting the ongoing cost-of-living crisis by impersonating webpages and baiting victims via online and social media campaigns, offering “once in a lifetime opportunities” for immediate investments with swift, substantial financial returns.
From January 2020, over 965 people have reported cases of investment fraud to the Gardai within a span of four years.
The majority of the victims are increasingly males; 69% of the victims were males last year and most of those affected are over the age of 40.
In May 2023, a man in his 40s responded to a social media advertisement offering investment opportunities by providing his contact details. He later received a call from an individual claiming to represent a trustworthy financial institution proposing to buy bank bonds and was conned out of 100,000 euro.
During 2023, a man in his…
