Message from "AIB". they have placed a hold on my account

Brendan Burgess

Founder
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I presume that this is a scam, but how does it work?

I presume it's a scam as AIb would contact me via the app and I have not got such a message before - or not for a very long time.

What happens if I click on 9? They then call me to tell me to transfer my money to a safe account?
 
Ah, it's not in the right format.

AIB: Is transaction for €100.00 at Retailer name on card ending 1234 yours? If so reply ‘1’, if not reply ’9’.
 
And just after I read this thread, I got a notice from my AIB app specifically addressing/warning about these type of scams. So my guess is that it is prevalent at the moment and AIB have responded in a timely manner. (which makes me happy).
 
This particular message looks like a scam.

I would note however that at least up until a year ago, AIB did indeed send messages just like this. If you answered '9', the card team put your card on hold, and you got a message that tells you the Cards Team will be in contact. This was an awful way of doing things, as scammers like your one above can just send the same format message, and by making this kind of interaction normal, the average person will be very vulnerable.

Here is AIB's page on it:

https://aib.ie/text-alerts

The page still exists, so maybe the 'service' does too. I got one last July, and it was genuine. It also came from the number listed on the AIB page about it, but SMS numbers cab be spoofed. I followed up by phoning the fraud team using the phone number on my credit card, which was out of date, but lead to a message directing me to another one. In that case, I hung up and used their website to get proper contact details. Not ideal.
 
I got it too. Luckily we’ve used the same plumber for years and his name isn’t Foley. Definitely a scam.
 
A long time ago in another country I opened a current account. While the bank did have my mobile number I never got an SMS nor an inbound call.

From day 1 all communication was via portal on website or app. Two-factor authentication via physical token and latterly mobile app. I applied for loans, challenged card transactions, changed address, etc, all via the bank’s own secure channel.

Meanwhile I still get letters and emails from one of the big two Irish banks that I closed my account with in 2017.
 
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