Gardaí warn Donegal public of scam emails claiming child abuse investigation

The public in Donegal have been warned of a scam in which communication is sent telling people that they are under investigation for child abuse offences.

The scam emails are sent to innocent individuals by people purporting to be senior members of An Garda Síochána.

These notices will often direct the recipient to transfer money in some way, in an effort to clear their name.

“An Garda Síochána will never contact you in this manner and will never ask you to transfer money to a bank account,” a spokesperson said.

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A Garda statement added: “To protect yourself from these scams, we recommend: Always deleting these emails the moment they are received;  To never share any personal information with the sender of the email; To verify any information supplied, such as the sender of the email and whether the email came from a legitimate Garda email address.”

Anyone who believes that they have been targeted in such a scam is asked to contact their local Garda station.