A total of 11 people have been arrested as part of the operation.
€64,000 has been stolen from nine customers of an Irish bank following a text message scam which saw the customers reply to a fraudulent text message, which they believed to be from their bank.
On Tuesday (8 June), Gardaí attached to the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), assisted by Gardaí from Lucan, arrested two men (aged 19 and 20) as part of an ongoing operation.
The operation is investigating a suspected criminal organisation involved in cyber-enabled frauds, the recruitment of money mules and the laundering of the proceeds of these frauds.
Between 13 August 2020 and 16 November 2020, nine customers of an Irish banking institution had an approximated total of €64,000 stolen from their accounts after responding to a fraudulent text message (smishing), which they believed to be from their bank.
This money was subsequently transferred to the accounts of money mules and withdrawn from ATMs.
Arising from these investigations, three searches were conducted on Tuesday morning in the Lucan area. The two men were arrested for offences contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006.
They are currently being detained under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007 in Clondalkin and Ronanstown Garda Stations and can be detained for up to seven days.
A total of 11 people have been arrested as part of this operation to date and investigations are ongoing.
Details on money mules and advice from An Garda Síochána can be found
here.
