News

Category: General

The Minister for Social and Family Affairs Mary Hanafin T.D., today urged customers, particularly pensioners collecting weekly payments from their Post Office, to be vigilant to potential con-artists.

Minister Hanafin said that in recent days the Postmaster in Dun Laoghaire contacted the Department to say that a pensioner called to say that he was approached on the street near the post office by a man and a woman in a car who claimed to be from Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social and Family Affairs.  The customer was asked about bank account details, which he did not have.  The customer has reported the incident to the local Gardaí, as he said the couple followed him along the road home.

Minister Hanafin said that “this was a deeply worrying incident” and she assured all customers that “this type of approach would not happen, as all Social & Family Affairs and Revenue Commissioners staff are required to produce valid photo identification in the course of any investigations or dealings with customers or employers.”

Minister Hanafin said that customers would generally be written to by the Department if sensitive information such as bank account details were being sought, and this information is only sought when customers are making a claim from the Department and the payment options is being considered.

“Thankfully incidents such as this are isolated, however they can be very distressing for the individual concerned.  I want to thank the Postmaster who brought this matter to the Department’s attention and who dealt so sensitively with the customer and provided the appropriate advice about reporting the matter to the Gardaí. It is important that an incident such as this is highlighted as it could happen in other areas of the country, and it is something that everyone should be alerted to.”