AIB has reported a “significant rise” in the number of customers getting messages from scammers pretending to be bank officials, writes Adam Van Eekeren.

The bank says it detected a 150% rise in fraudulent texts in July, involving scammers presenting a fake transaction as if it was on the customer’s account and asking to be contacted to have the transaction refunded.

The bank warned: “The scammers are highly skilled at tricking customers into believing they are going to stop fraudulent transactions from their account.”

Some fraudsters will even refrain from asking for security codes or login information in an attempt to seem less suspicious.

AIB also noted that some of the scam texts will refer to real businesses in an attempt to seem more legitimate.

The bank is advising its customers to be on high alert.

Mary McHale, head of financial crime at AIB, advised customers to “Wait a sec and double check, and never move your money to another account after receiving a call or text claiming to be us”.