It has been reported that more than one in three adults in Ireland have suffered fraud (35%).
This was reported following new research carried out by the Central Bank, who said that over a third of fraud victims have failed to report it. They also said that almost two thirds of victims have lost money from the fraud, including "relatively modest amounts", with 39% reportedly losing less than €249.
The data carried out was based on a nationally representative survey of almost 3,000 adults. It was carried out between December 2024 and January 2025.
The Central Bank have called this investment fraud a "particular fraud", saying that while it has only impacted 7% of respondents, victims of such fraud tend to lose more substantial amounts of money.
The research also found that online purchase scams were the most common type of fraud (48%), as well as debit and credit card scams (34%). Other scams mentioned included delivery service impersonation (15%), and phishing/email scams (13%).
They said that "risky online behaviours" were the "single strongest predictor of fraud experience - more influential than age, income, or education level".
Such behaviours include buying items from unfamiliar websites, sending money to people online, despite never meeting them in person, as well as sharing banking or payment card details via insecure channels such as email or messaging apps.
Central Bank have said that the total payment fraud in Ireland reached €160 million in 2024, a reported increase of 24.5% from the previous year, according to the latest figures.
It was found that victims who reported the fraud to the Gardaí, only 57% were able to recover their lost money. The report also found that 38% of fraud victims did not even report it to their financial service reporter or any authority despite finding a "clear correlation" between reporting fraud and recovering lost funds.
However, it was also reported that 13% of people who did not report their fraud had recovered their lost funds.
The fraud report has suggested that the real impact on consumers may be significantly underestimated.
"Reporting to your financial service provider makes it more likely your money can be recovered and where you did not specifically authorise the payment transaction you have a statutory right to a refund, subject to limited exceptions", Central Bank Deputy Governor, Colm Kincaid said of the report.
He added: "By reporting, you may also help others by making your financial service provider aware of the fraud".
