Gardaí warn Irish residents of ongoing iTunes gift card scam

No matter what you hear, you do not owe iTunes money! Gardaí are warning the public of an ongoing iTunes scam.

There have been reports of scammers claiming to be an iTunes employee contacting people and requesting payment for money they claim is owed.

The scammers insist the victim buy an iTunes gift card as payment and ask for the 16 digit gift card number.

The anonymous cons recently tried to trick a business in Cork into sending them money. A request was made via email, sent by a person claiming to be the Manager of the company.

The message asked a staff member to purchase €2,000 of iTunes gift cards and send on the voucher numbers, but thankfully the employee contacted their Manager by phone to verify the request, suspicious of the sender's intent.

Gardaí say to be cautious of the ongoing scam and watch out for any phone calls, voicemails or emails from scammers claiming to be a representative of an organisation.

They may claim that you owe money and insist on immediate payment by a gift card. In some cases, victims are told they are facing criminal charges.

The scammer may know some information about you, so be sure not to trust them just because they use your name or have other personal details.

Detective Superintendent Healy warned: "We fear that this is an emerging scam and would urge people to be vigilant. The retailers of such cards should also be vigilant.

“Please remember, If you are NOT purchasing an item from the iTunes Store, App Store, iBooks Store, or an Apple Music membership, do not make a payment with iTunes Gift Cards.

“There's no other instance in which you'll be asked to make a payment with an iTunes Gift Card. If you fear you have been a victim of this scam or any other scam for that matter, please pick up the phone and call Gardaí”.

The iTunes gift card scam is just one of many that have recently surfaced in Ireland and the public is advised to continue to exercise extreme caution when answering phone calls.

Always say "NO” to unsolicited callers or texters seeking personal information about you, and never use the contact details supplied to you by the caller or texter.

Personal information includes your name, address, date of birth, family details, bank account numbers, PIN, Passwords.

If you think you are being scammed, call your local garda station immediately.