Galway couple lose €1,000 in PC ‘fix’ scam

A couple in Barna village say they have been scammed out of more than €1,000 over the telephone by fraudsters claiming to act on behalf of a major utilities company.

On Monday, a man and an Asian woman phoned the couple offering to help fix the computer of the homeowners.

They claimed to be calling from a well-known internet and telecoms provider and offered to fix a computer.

They talked the woman of the house through the process of fixing the computer, and asked for only €10.

She gave her credit card details over the phone to pay for the modest fee but subsequently discovered that her MasterCard account had been ‘cleaned’ of a four figure sum.

“Naively my wife gave out our credit card number . . . they rang us, we didn’t ring them. By the time she got off the phone the credit card was charged. It just goes to show you should always be suspicious if someone is trying to offer help,” the man, who wished to remain anonymous, said.

There have been reports of similar type attempts to scam people over the phone in other parts of the country.

Gardaí have urged people to be cautious when receiving unsolicited phone calls and to never give out credit card details unless they are sure the people they are speaking with are legitimate.