Is there an “acceptable” number of people who can fall victim to scams and fraud online for the greater good of foreign direct investment into Ireland? With the European Union updating regulations governing financial payments, officials at the Department of Finance have urged it to bring in tougher rules to crack down on online scams. It comes as a slew of reports say investment fraud is becoming a serious problem, with gardaí saying there has been a 21 per cent rise in cases in the three months to October. The Irish banking sector’s fraud awareness initiative, Fraud Smart, recently advised consumers, especially those over the age of 50, to be on alert for what it described as highly convincing investment scams, promising guaranteed and profitable returns. Emails released under Freedom of Information show Department of Enterprise officials said they had a “major issue” with the Finance proposal.
