Ms Niamh Davenport:

Banks will have an obligation to report suspicious transactions or any information they have to An Garda Síochána by means of suspicious transaction reports, STRs. An Garda Síochána will be able to speak to this and provide more numbers, but more than 60,000 STRs have been registered so far this year. A significant number of suspicious transactions go to An Garda Síochána for investigation. What I would say to anybody is to report what has happened to the bank and to An Garda Síochána. The latter is looking for that information. Regardless of whether one fell victim, it could be a piece of the jigsaw An Garda Síochána needs in order to prosecute. It is very important, first, to get the information to the bank to try to get that recall in. The sooner one acts, the easier it is to get money back. Second, it should be reported to An Garda Síochána, for it to put the picture together as well. Much of the money goes overseas. An Garda Síochána would have the ability to contact investigators overseas, share the information and do the recalls. People should always report it to both their bank and An Garda Síochána.