Scam artists are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are localising their pitch to take advantage of the difficult financial circumstances facing many Irish people, the National Consumer Agency (NCA) has said.
The agency said it had been alerted to scams claiming to originate from State bodies, which sought personal details.
It said it had seen e-mails alleging to be from the Revenue Commissioners offering tax refunds and letters purporting to be from the Money Advice and Budgeting Service offering Government grants.