International Fraud Awareness Week: Fraud Prevention Tips

17 November 2025

At An Post Money, we’re proud to support International Fraud Awareness Week, taking place from 16 – 22 November. This global initiative helps educate and empower individuals and organisations to fight fraud. As part of this effort, we would like to share our top tips to keep your money and personal information safe.

Staying safe from scams: what everyone should know

Top tips to protect yourself from fraud

1. Never share your OTP

A One-Time Passcode (OTP) is a unique code sent to verify your identity when you log in or make a transaction. This unique code is for your use only. It’s designed for your security and should never be shared. Unfortunately, fraudsters are becoming smarter. They often impersonate bank staff, send convincing texts, or call you directly to trick you into sharing your OTP. Once they have it, they can:

•    Add your debit card to their digital wallet and make purchases using your funds
•    Make outgoing transfers and drain your account

Never share your OTP with anyone, even if they claim to be from your financial institution.
How to stay safe from fraudsters:

•    Never share OTPs by phone, text or email
•    Verify SMS senders. An Post will never message you from a private number. 
•    If you receive a suspicious call claiming to be from your bank, hang up and contact the customer service team. If you are our customer, please contact our customer services team directly.

Learn more about the importance of not sharing OTPs for fraud prevention.
 

2. Activate dynamic CVV for safer transactions

To help safeguard your account from online card fraud, activate dynamic CVV.  It’s a security feature offered by some banking apps, such as the An Post Money app. Unlike the static 3-digit code printed on your card, it generates a unique, one-time-use code for every online transaction, making it virtually impossible for fraudsters to reuse your card details. This extra layer of protection is especially effective against Card-Not-Present (CNP) fraud, one of the most common types of payment fraud. 

To enable dynamic CVV, check your banking app or contact your provider. If you are an An Post Money customer, simply open the app, go to the Current Account tab, and activate dynamic CVV.
 

3. Keep Current Account Balances Low:

Keeping high balances in a current account can significantly increase exposure to fraud attacks. Large balances are attractive to fraudsters, and it means that where a successful fraud attack occurs, the loss is far greater. We recommend only keeping a necessary balance for ordinary spending and transferring excess funds to more secure accounts. For An Post Money customers, we urge you to use your Jars function to hold high balances and keep your funds secure.
 

4. Don’t download any remote access applications:

These applications are used by Fraudsters to take over your device and access your funds. An Post, or any financial institution, will never ask you to download any of these applications. If someone requests to take over your device claiming to be from your bank – hang up, it’s a fraudster.
 

5. Use Scamchecker.ie to verify links: 

Tools like Scamchecker.ie allow you to paste any suspicious link and instantly check its legitimacy against a real-time database of known scam sites and malware hosts. It’s a free tool from FraudSMART, developed by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland. Whether you’ve received a link via text, email, or social media, scam checking tools help you make informed decisions before entering personal or payment details.
 

Stay alert, stay secure 

We believe that awareness is the first line of defence. Whether it’s understanding the risks of OTP sharing, activating dynamic CVV, or verifying suspicious links, every step you take makes a difference. At this International Fraud Awareness Week, we encourage you to stay informed, stay alert and stay aware. For more information on the different types of fraud and how to protect yourself, read our guide on how to avoid scams.

If you believe you have fallen victim to fraud please contact the An Post Money team immediately on (01) 705 8000.