Gardaí warn of email scam which has already caught out Airbnb customers
People are being warned to look out for emails from fake companies and service providers due to new EU data laws.
The General Data Protection Regulation is coming into effect on Friday, which means companies have to get your permission to contact you.
However, gardaí are warning that cyber criminals will use the opportunity to try to get personal details from consumers via email.
They say the phishing scam issued fake notices pretending to be from Airbnb, and they have already sent to people in Europe.
There are various ways to spot a phishing email.
They are often sent from an unfamiliar email address, badly written, and contain links or attachments that you are urged to open.
If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of an email, do not click any of the links. Hovering your mouse over the link or address will reveal the linked site’s true URL. These URLs can be slightly misspelled or completely different to what you were expecting, so always double-check before you click.
If you are still unsure, contact the company or individual using the details you already have for them and log in to any accounts from a separate browser. Never use the contact details provided in the email.
