Be careful: Bank of Ireland warns users of "smishing" texts

Bank of Ireland are warning their customers to ignore any text messages that say their online accounts are frozen.

It's believed a number of customers have received texts telling them their accounts have been locked for "security reasons."

The messages then attempt to divert users to a fake link to "reset" account details. Phishing by text is known as "smishing."

@talktoBOI hi folks just got a text to say my account was locked for security reasons (it's not)& brought me to a dodgy looking link pic.twitter.com/mBTia4Nfzs

— Louise Cahill (@loucahill) January 31, 2017

BOI say scammers are using the texts to attempt to access online accounts. However, the company stress their systems have not been hacked according to RTÉ.

The bank also want to remind customers that they never send unsolicited emails or texts asking for full log-on details.

They have asked customers to be vigilant and report any suspicious email or text to 365security@boimail.com.

I assume this text is some sort of scam as I don't even have a BOI account. @talktoBOI pic.twitter.com/iqo0LJYDsb

— caroline quinn photo (@cquinnphoto) January 31, 2017

They recommend following these guidelines to keep your cash safe:

• Do not click on any links or attachments within a suspicious email or text
• Do not input any personal or account information
• Delete the text or email after reporting it