A local Senator has described a situation where he almost fell victim to a phone scam.
Fine Gael Senator Joe O'Reilly told the story of his near miss in the Seanad this week.
Senator O'Reilly was responding to a contribution from Senator Gareth Scahill, who raised the issue of scammers pretending to be children contacting their parents.
The Roscommon Senator highlighted that 35% of adults in Ireland have experienced fraud, and a third of those affected never reported it.
Speaking in the Seanad, Senator O'Reilly revealed he almost fell victim to a similar scam.
He explained that he had been worried about his son who was abroad, and the scam is effective because it pulls at the heart strings.
Senator O'Reilly didn't send the scammer money, but outlined how it could happen.
The Co. Cavan man explained: "I almost fell victim to this scam myself. Quite seriously, my youngest son has a tendency to lose a lot of things, which he did not lick off the grass. Neither did he lick off the grass a level of disorganisation.
"So when I got that call, my son was abroad and I was sure that he had lost his phone. I had gone most of the way to dealing with it and to sending money. They looked for money. The next message that comes back after one responds is that the son wants money.
"One transfers it and then one gives them access to one's bank account and they can get more money. It is a very effective scam because it pulls at the heart strings and gets to one's insecurities about a child abroad.
"Senator Scahill's child happened to be eight or nine years of age and sitting beside him but how many people were like me when it happened? We were anxious about a young fellow travelling out in Asia at the time when I got that message. I was sure he had lost his phone and I was really concerned and I was about to send money.
"I nearly did it. I went almost to the wire," Senator O'Reilly added.
