Bank of Ireland has renewed warnings of phone scams, launching a new system that allows customers to verify texts.

People are asked to be on high alert and not to take messages or calls at face value.

The number of people who've received a scam text pretending to be from their bank has jumped by a third since last year, according to a Red C survey.

Bank of Ireland is today launching a new fraudulent text checking service.

Customers can text CHECK followed by the body of the scam text to 50365, to verify it.

Speaking to Newstalk, Paul O'Brien from Bank of Ireland Security said it is anxious to protect against fraudsters.

"Fraudulent texts and fraudulent phone calls are a constant issue for ourselves and for our customers, and particularly on text messages", he said.

"So our message to customers is: Stop, think and check."

"Stop, take a minute, don't get rushed into anything."

"Think about what you're doing. Think about what your bank might ask you."

How it works

The poll shows that three quarters of the adult population has a received a scam message appearing to be from their bank.

Mr O'Brien explained how the new tool is going to work, urging people to make use of it to avoid being scammed.

"What we're saying to people is, if you get a text message, if you're a bit unsure or even if you think it probably is genuine, if you want to check it with us, we have a service that'll let you do that really really quickly and easily."

"Copy the text that you want to check, paste it into a new message, stick the work 'check' in front of it and send it to us at 50365."

"We'll come back to you straight away and let you know if it's a genuine Bank of Ireland text."

Fraud Alert! Texts like these are fake so just delete them and you will keep your account safe. Remember too that we would never ask you to swipe to approve a “fake transaction” on your banking app. pic.twitter.com/jelTKRKhuJ

— Bank of Ireland (@talktoBOI) October 20, 2022

Main image shows the HQ of the Bank of Ireland on Baggot Street in Dublin. Picture by: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland