Bank of Ireland has announced an investment of €50 million on customer fraud prevention and protection. The investment includes €15million on new fraud prevention technology, along with a range of high-profile consumer awareness campaigns and support for customers who are targeted by fraudsters.

Bank of Ireland runs one of the most comprehensive consumer fraud awareness programmes in Ireland as a central part of its commitment to safeguarding the financial wellbeing of its customers. The majority of members of the public surveyed see Bank of Ireland as the financial institution most associated with educating the general public about fraud (Red C, Feb ‘24). This latest investment enhances the Bank’s response to this important issue, and includes a nationwide series of free fraud awareness events for consumers. Over the coming six weeks 12 meetings are planned, and details on further events will be published shortly.

Across Bank of Ireland 225 colleagues are now solely dedicated to fraud prevention and protection, the provision of 24/7 phone support to customers every day of the year, and the detection of financial crime. Three in four consumers want to be able to speak directly with someone at their bank or financial service provider if they fall victim to fraud.

In the past 12 months, the vast majority of the population (90%, Red C, Feb ‘24) have experienced fraudulent communications via text, email or on the phone. According to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, reports received by Gardaí from victims of fraudulent texts increased by over 30% in 2023. Bank of Ireland’s fraud teams intercept or prevent the majority of fraud attempts, and this is a 24/7 job. In the remaining cases, where a fraud has been successful, all efforts are made by the fraud team to recover funds for customers.

Myles O’Grady, Group CEO of Bank of Ireland commented: “The vast majority of us have received texts, emails, or calls from fraudsters. At first glance, these look like they come from trusted organisations like government departments, banks, the post office, or delivery companies. Some of them even pose as coming from family or colleagues, but whatever form they choose they all have one common aim – to steal your money.

“Banks are on the front line in defending our customers, and wider society, from this threat. However more action is needed from all of us including telecoms companies, social media and tech firms, banks and fintechs, and State agencies.

“I encourage everyone – regardless of whether they are a Bank of Ireland customer or not – to come to one of our fraud awareness events taking place over the coming months.”

“The investment we are announcing today helps equip our people with the latest resources to support and protect customers. It also ensures that if our customers are targeted by a fraudster they can talk to a real human – not a bot – 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.”

Nicola Sadlier, Head of Fraud, Bank of Ireland said: “Our message is clear – Stop, Think, Check. If something sounds too good to be true, it is. Treat every unsolicited call, text or email as a potential fraud attempt. Be suspicious. Keep your guard up.

“Our teams are constantly monitoring for emerging threats. We see more and more fraud attacks starting from social media and tech platforms. Fake ads should be caught before they are published online, but many are not. If we see a fake ad, we report it to the channel operator, but even then some ads are removed very slowly and sometimes not at all.”