Written answers

Tuesday, 27 March 2007

Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform

On-line Banking

11:00 am

Photo of Paul KehoePaul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 194: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the situation regarding guidelines being drawn up by his Department for victims of phishing in relation to victims in the State of online banking swindles; the advice he would give to such victims in order for them to recover their lost money; the other measures being taken by his Department to combat this type of crime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11088/07]

Photo of Michael McDowellMichael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The act of "phishing" constitutes a number of offences contained in the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. In addition, a provision to give the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime the force of law in Ireland is included in the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. The Government has approved the drafting of the Bill along the lines of a General Scheme and the General Scheme has been forwarded to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel for drafting of the Bill.

I am aware of a number of initiatives taken by Departments, Agencies and the industry itself in relation to "phishing" and I have outlined some of them below.

I understand from An Garda Síochána that they have received in excess of 25 complaints from members of the public relating to fraudulent withdrawals from their bank accounts, offences which are committed using a technique known as "phishing" which is a term used to describe the theft or attempted theft of personal information using e-mail and "bogus" websites. It is a relatively recent phenomenon.

The primary function of An Garda Síochána is the investigation of the criminal conduct through which the monies have been lost by the injured parties as opposed to the recovery of funds. However, criminal courts invariably make orders restoring funds which have been identified as the proceeds of crime following conviction of the offender.

I understand that An Garda Síochána is working with the Banking Industry to counteract this phenomenon. All the Banks offering on-line banking services have posted warning notices on their websites to the effect that this activity is occurring and that members of the public should not respond to any request relating to their personal banking security details.

A High-Tech Crime forum has also been established with all relevant stakeholders including An Garda Síochána and the Financial Services Industry, including the banking sector. This forum facilitates the rapid dissemination of information related to "phishing" and other methods being used in an attempt to compromise banking services.

Victims of "phishing" attacks are advised by An Garda Síochána and the industry to report any such attacks immediately to An Garda Síochána for investigation. Every assistance is given by An Garda Síochána to injured parties and their representatives in their efforts to recover moneys.

Garda investigations to date have resulted in a number of persons being prosecuted for theft offences, related to "phishing" incidents where the proceeds of fraudulent withdrawals have been transferred to an apparently legitimate account which has been used to facilitate the withdrawal of stolen funds. A number of other similar investigations are ongoing.

An Garda Síochána have advised that, through the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigations, it has participated in a number of initiatives, by various Government Departments and the Financial Institutions, whose primary aim is to raise public awareness of this type of criminality, and include:

A website entitled 'Safecard', which was launched in partnership with the Irish Payment Services Organisation, addresses many issues around payment card fraud, in particular the issue of identity theft. The Garda website (www.garda.ie) also contains advice to members of the public on how to avoid this type of criminal activity.

The 'Make ITSecure' Programme, in conjunction with the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources which, inter alia, produced advice booklets, including one on Identity Theft, for the public and which have been distributed to every Garda Station.

I also understand that the Financial Regulator in June 2004 published a factsheet informing consumers as to how to protect themselves from fraud and this is available from the Financial Regulator's website. All the information and communication from the Financial Regulator has reinforced the same warnings — that no bank would ever ask their customers to confirm any of their financial information by email or by entering details into a website.

I am sure that the Deputy is already aware that the Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs and the Consumer Protection Agency (under the auspices of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment) on 15 March 2007, World Consumer Rights Day, advised of their forthcoming launch of their Scams Awareness Campaign. The Campaign is to be formally launched on April Fool's Day, 1st April next. "Scammers" have many ways of targeting people in Ireland including phone calls, e-mail, post and door-to-door visits. Their material, including information in relation to phishing, can be viewed on their website at consumerconnect.ie. Similar material on European wide scams can be viewed on the European Consumer Centre website at www.ecc.dublin.ie.

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