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Bank warns on scam targeting solicitors

Bank of Ireland has issued a warning about recent unsuccessful attempts to defraud solicitor customers of the bank.

The Law Society says that it is aware of similar attacks in recent weeks.

Solicitors can access knowledge and resources on cyber-security from the Law Society website.

‘Realistic’ website

In the most recent incidents, customers received a phone call from someone claiming to be from their bank.

The caller may say that they are contacting the customer about a suspicious payment or tell the customer that they need to carry out some steps to protect the customer’s account.

The caller asks the customer to go to a website, designed to look realistic, saying that it is for a live chat service or to verify the customer’s PC.

The caller asks the customer to click on an ‘open live chat’ button on the website.

Clicking on that button will start a download of remote access software to the customer’s PC.

Remote access

The caller asks the customer to allow remote access, which lets the caller see and control the customer’s PC. 

The caller asks the customer to log into online banking, and then takes control of the PC to make payments from the customer’s bank account.

The caller also asks the customer to read out one-time codes to approve new payees and to make payments.

Solicitors are being advised to hang up if they receive a call from someone who asks them to go to a website or to click on a link that they will send.

They are also being told never to allow a caller to gain remote access to their PC, nor to share one-time codes from their online-banking app.