Scams, Fraud & Money Recovery
After a scam in Ireland: report to An Garda Síochána / GNCCB and the National Fraud Bureau, claim a refund under PSD2 / Consumer Protection Code 2012, and escalate free to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO).
Covered in this guide:
Ireland's scam-recovery system runs across three institutions. An Garda Síochána investigates cybercrime through the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB) and economic crime through the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB). The statutory frameworks are the Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017 (giving effect to EU Directive 2013/40/EU) and the Criminal Justice (Fraud Offences) Act 2001. For the money side, Irish banks must reimburse unauthorised electronic transactions under EU PSD2 (Regulation 2015/2366) and the European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018 — generally by end of next business day. If the bank refuses, the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) resolves the dispute for free under the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017. For telecom-side scams (fake calls, SMS, SIM-swap), ComReg is the regulator.
Emergency: 999 / 112. Crime Stoppers: 1800 25 00 25.
Key Laws
Criminal Justice (Offences Relating to Information Systems) Act 2017
Act 11 of 2017 — transposes EU Directive 2013/40/EU
Ireland's cybercrime statute. Unauthorised access (s.2), interference with information system or data (ss.3–4), unauthorised interception (s.5), tools for committing offences (s.6). Penalties up to 10 years' imprisonment for serious offences.
Criminal Justice (Fraud Offences) Act 2001
Act 50 of 2001
Statutory framework for theft and fraud offences in Ireland. Theft (s.4), making gain or causing loss by deception (s.6), false accounting (s.10), and related offences. Used by GNECB for organised fraud prosecutions.
European Union (Payment Services) Regulations 2018 (PSD2)
S.I. 6/2018 — transposes EU Regulation 2015/2366
PSD2 framework. Unauthorised electronic transactions: bank must reimburse by end of next business day unless reasonable grounds to suspect fraud by the payer. Customer liability for unauthorised use of lost/stolen instrument capped at €50 (Regulation 75) unless gross negligence.
Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Act 2017
Act 22 of 2017
Statutory basis for FSPO. Free dispute resolution for consumers of financial services. Legally binding decisions. Six-year limit on most complaints (longer for endowment / pension).
First 24 Hours After Being Scammed
Three jobs in parallel. Call your bank's fraud line immediately. Under PSD2 (S.I. 6/2018) Irish banks must reimburse unauthorised electronic transactions by end of next business day unless they have r...
Reporting Cybercrime to An Garda Síochána (GNCCB)
Ireland's cybercrime investigator is the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau (GNCCB), the specialist unit within An Garda Síochána. Economic crime (large-value or organised fraud) is handled by the Gard...
Recovering Money from an Irish Bank via the FSPO
Ireland's money-recovery framework is two-step. Step 1: complaint to the bank. Under the Central Bank of Ireland's Consumer Protection Code 2012, the bank must investigate and respond with a Final Res...