Know your rights: How to deal with scams

Question:
I think I’ve been scammed, can I get my money back?

If you’ve been scammed, you have been tricked into parting with
your money.

The scam can come in many forms.  You may be sold fake tickets that don’t exist.
You may get a missed call from a scammer and when you phone back you could be
paying a premium rate.  You could get a
bogus email pretending to be from your bank, trying to trick you into sharing
your personal and financial information.

If you suspect you’ve been scammed you should act immediately:

• Stop all contact with the scammer
• Do not send any more payments
• If you paid by credit or debit card, tell your bank or card
  provider immediately
• Report the incident to your local Garda station –scamming is a
  criminal matter
• Gather any records you have about the scam (emails or other
  communications)
• Protect your devices by resetting your passwords and update your
  anti-virus software
• Report the incident to consumer protection agencies such as the
  CPCC, for advice and to help stop other people being caught in the same scam

You may be able to get your money back depending on what happened
and how you paid the scammer.

You
may get your money back if you:

• Notice money has been taken from your account without your
  authorisation, and you contact your bank immediately.  In most circumstances, you bank must refund
  you for an unauthorised payment.
• Bought something from a scammer with your debit card, credit card
  or PayPal. You can ask your bank or credit provider to reverse the transaction
  through a process known as a chargeback.

It’s
unlikely you will get your money back if you:

• Paid by bank transfer. It can be harder to get money back, but the
  sooner you contact your bank the better.
• Paid by money transfer services such as MoneyGram, PayPoint or
  Western Union.
• Paid by vouchers or gift card

To protect yourself in future, you should not share your personal
information if you don’t know who are dealing with.  Trust your instinct and always ask yourself
‘is it safe?’ 

You can read more about how to protect yourself from scams on citizensinformation.ie.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, you can find comprehensive
integrated information online at citizensinformation.ie/covid19/ and
you can get daily updates on what’s changed on Twitter at @citizensinfo.
You can also get information and advice from:

• The Citizens Information Phone Service: Call
  0761 07 4000, Monday to Friday, 9am – 8pm
• Our national call back service: Visit citizensinformation.ie/callback to
  request a phone call from an information officer

From
July, a limited number of appointments are being made in Citizens Information
Centres offices where social distancing can be facilitated. You can continue to
contact your local centre by email or phone using the details in Find a Centre page on citizensinformation.ie.