Irish banks are warning consumers to stay alert as a new wave of AI-powered scams is duping people out of thousands of euro through highly convincing fake celebrity endorsements and fraudulent investment offers.
The warning comes from FraudSmart, the awareness campaign led by Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), which says the scams are increasingly targeting people aged 50 and over — often those looking to invest or boost retirement savings.
At the same time, the Central Bank of Ireland has raised concerns over fraud recovery schemes, where victims of previous scams are contacted by criminals claiming they can recover lost funds in exchange for an upfront fee.
According to gardaí, investment fraud reports rose by 21% in the three months leading up to October 2025, with typical losses ranging between €30,000 and €40,000 per person.
The scams often begin with AI-generated pop-up adverts on social media featuring fake endorsements from well-known celebrities, promising “guaranteed returns” or “exclusive investment opportunities.” When users click to learn more, they’re prompted to enter contact details and soon receive a call from someone posing as a “financial adviser” or representative of a legitimate-sounding firm.
Niamh Davenport, head of financial crime at BPFI, explained that these scammers “promote a wide range of supposed investment opportunities” and use branding and names of real banks or firms to gain trust. Some even create copycat social-media profiles of genuine employees and follow up with professional-looking brochures or emails designed to appear legitimate.
Once victims transfer money, it is quickly moved through multiple accounts — often overseas — making recovery nearly impossible. Gardaí say losses can start as low as €250 for crypto scams but rise sharply in cases involving bonds or shares, where some victims lose multiples of €40,000.
Detective Sergeant Niall Smith of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau said that while overall reports have remained steady compared to 2024, “a concerning 21 percent increase has been recorded in the three months up to October 2025.”
The Central Bank has also warned of fake comparison websites and recovery-fund schemes preying on victims’ desperation. Colm Kincaid, Deputy Governor of Consumer and Investor Protection, said: “Across society we see increasingly sophisticated scams, principally on social media and other digital channels. Digitalisation has clear benefits, but these attacks are increasing the need for vigilance.”
He added that scammers are becoming more subtle, moving away from “too-good-to-be-true” offers toward deals that seem only slightly above market rates — making them even harder to spot.
The Central Bank is urging the public to use the SAFE test — Stop, Ask, Fact-check, Expose — when dealing with online financial offers.
Stop: Take time to think before acting.
Ask: Question what’s being offered and who’s behind it.
Fact-check: Confirm that both the company and product are legitimate, ideally via registers.centralbank.ie.
Expose: Report suspected scams to An Garda Síochána or the Central Bank.
Ms Davenport also encouraged vigilance, saying “while banks are using a range of measures to protect customers, fraudsters are targeting consumers directly. It’s important for us all to know how to protect ourselves. Pause for thought, don’t share your personal details through a pop-up advert, and contact the company independently to verify.”
With scams becoming increasingly sophisticated, both the BPFI and Central Bank are urging Irish consumers to stay alert — and to remember that if an investment sounds unusually easy or guaranteed, it’s almost certainly a scam.
