Fórsa has launched a new helpline for members who have experienced identity theft. The helpline will help with situations such as having a credit card stolen or a bank account hacked. 

When identity theft happens, acting quickly is crucial to limiting the amount of damage the thief can inflict upon your finances. The helpline offers immediate assistance so you can stop the thieves in the act and limit the damage.  

After you have removed the thieves access to your accounts, you may need help restoring access to your accounts. The helpline can assist you with reissuing stolen or compromised cards and reinstating your credentials. 

In the event of legal issues arising following your identity theft incident, the helpline can provide you with assistance on any related issues. This includes potential penalties or fines that may arise following the incident. 

Fórsa deputy general secretary, Matt Staunton said “ID theft is on the rise. We’re now seeing more cunning and sophisticated scams online and on our phones, on top of the physical theft of cards.” 

He continued, “We want to make sure that our members are well supported if the worst happens to them. It can be scary when a theft happens to you, and it can be hard to think straight. The helpline is there so you can make sure you don’t miss anything, cut the thieves off completely, and help you sort everything out afterwards.” 

If you are experiencing identity theft or have experienced identity theft and need support, you can reach our helpline at 0818 252 922. 

Our other helplines for members include legal advice, confidential counselling, and home incidents. Details of all helplines can be found here.

Don’t get scammed! 

The best way to combat identity thieves is by making sure they don’t get their hands on your personal information in the first place. Their methods evolve and change so remain vigilant! So here is some evergreen advice for keeping yourself safe: 

Text scams 

• Don’t use links you receive in texts. If it’s from someone claiming to be your bank, call your bank’s customer service number if you think it may be legitimate. For An Post or other delivery services check for updates on their website using tracking information or contact the sender. 

Phone Scams 

• Stay calm, scammers will often try to panic you. When you’re panicking, you’re not thinking, and you are less likely to notice important things, like if they are asking you for information they should already have, if they are who they say they are.  
• As a rule, if someone contacts you claiming to be from your bank, a service provider, the government, An Post, or another similar organisation, do not give them your details, name, age, address, account number, passwords, login details, PPSN, etc. Only ever give details to a number you have called and verified as legitimate from the company/organisation’s website. 

Fake invoices 

• An increasingly common scam, you may receive a fake invoice that looks like it is from a legitimate company. This is likely a phishing scam. If it is with a company or service you don’t use, you can ignore it. If you are worried, you can contact the company’s customer support using information found on their website. Do not reply to the email. 

Be mysterious 

• Never put important details out on social media. Your address, children’s names, place of birth, etc. these can be used by tech-savvy thieves to access your social media accounts, and in scams to access your bank accounts. This includes message board sites like RIP.ie, where it is best to just use your given name when extending your condolences. 
• Similarly, there are commonly used security questions you should be aware of and be careful not to post the answers to. The name of your first pet, favourite food, mother’s maiden name, favourite colour, and street you grew up on are all commonly used security questions. So, chain memes like “your mother’s maiden name backwards and the last thing you ate is your Star Wars name” may seem fun but could leave you exposed to identity theft. 

Be careful at ATMs 

• This is less of an issue these days as plastic payments take over from paper, but you should still be careful when using an ATM and examine the machine’s casing for signs of tampering before using it. Thieves can place card skimmers inside ATMs and steal your card’s information. Where possible withdraw money from ATMs in bank lobbies which are less exposed to tampering. 

No one can be vigilant every second of every day and even the most careful person can get scammed. The important thing is to remember to act fast when it does happen, and our identity theft helpline is there to ensure you can get back to normal as quickly as possible after. 

Identity theft helpline -0818 252 922 

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