Ms Niamh Davenport:

This is why it is important to look at the wider ecosystem. These accounts are not necessarily opened by the fraudsters. They are controlled by the fraudsters, and that is the difference. There is an enormous problem that the Garda would be able to speak about in more detail and with far more knowledge than we have. That problem is around money mule accounts. We will be doing a campaign with Snapchat on the issue later in the year as part of our FraudSMART programme. Students, in particular, are approached. It is, unfortunately, very common in this country for students to be approached and asked for their bank accounts to be used. They may get a fee of €50 or €200 for allowing a transaction to go through their account or the may be allowed to keep part of the transaction. They then forward on the money. Those are mule accounts. It is important to look at the full loop that is going around. When these frauds are taking place, fraudsters are using mule accounts and using that money to fund the drug-trafficking and human-trafficking we are seeing. That is happening throughout this country. It is not just something that happens abroad. People can forget it is happening here too.