Bank of Ireland customers warned of ‘Smishing’ hoax

Have you received a text informing you that your Bank of Ireland 365 account has been locked?

If so, you can rest assured it's a hoax. The Irish Independent reports that a number of consumers received texts alerting them that their online bank account had been disabled. The bank is warning customers not to click the link in the text as doing so could enable to download of malicious software that could compromise your online security.

"This is a type of online fraud, is called “smishing”, whereby you receive an SMS that claims to be from Bank of Ireland or another financial institution asking you to verify or re submit confidential personal banking information in an attempt to obtain sensitive information such as personal banking details," a Bank of Ireland spokesperson told independent.ie. "Suspicious SMS and emails can be in circulation at any time, and customers bring these to the attention of the Bank on an ongoing basis".

The latest scam comes hot on the heels of another recent hoax, purporting to be a text message from Revenue. Double check with your bank or credit card company if you suspect you've already been swindled.