Bank of Ireland has revealed that its fraud prevention team fielded over 10,000 calls from customers during the peak holiday period – Monday 23 December to Sunday 29 December – with more than 550 calls from customers on Christmas day alone.
Over the holiday period, the busiest day for calls from customers was 23 December with over 2,800 calls received, with the second busiest being 27 December (1,734 calls) and over 1,100 calls received on St Stephen’s Day. New Year’s Day 2025 also proved to be busy for the fraud prevention team with just over 1,300 calls.
Customers call the team for a range of reasons including spotting a transaction on their account or card that they don’t recognise, if they are contacted by a fraudster via text, call or social media, reporting a lost card, or if they are worried they may have shared their confidential banking information as a result of one of these contacts.
Susan Russell, chief executive officer Retail Ireland, Bank of Ireland says: “Fraudsters never take a break and are always on. That’s why we offer a 24/7 telephone line for fraud and security support. As these figures show, customers aren’t just concerned about fraud during business hours. They can spot something worrying, or be the victim of an attempted fraud, on any day of the year. When that happens, they can call us any time for fraud and security support.”
Ireland's Government has recently committed to the establishment of a shared fraud database between financial institutions, utility companies, and payment companies, against a backdrop where scammers stole almost €100 million in 2023.