The victim thought they were sending money to a solicitor.
A man in his 40s has been arrested in Tallaght on Thursday (10 February) following an attempt to fraudulently steal money.
The Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) received a report in December 2020 in which a person, who was living in Europe, was planning to purchase a residence in Ireland.
During the process, they had received an email from their solicitor which requested payment.
The victim subsequently sent a transfer in excess of €175,000 to the account number supplied.
It was then discovered that the solicitor’s email address had been hacked and the bank number supplied was not belonging to this solicitor.
The GNECB subsequently made enquiries with the banks and successfully managed to freeze and retrieve all of the money, which was then returned to the victim.
The man, who was arrested for an offence contrary to Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, is currently detained at Tallaght Garda Station and can be held in custody for up to 7 days.
Investigations are ongoing.
