Ryanair has warned of a scam which is targeting customers who are looking for refunds on flights.
The elaborate scam, which seemingly has been targeting people who have posted about refunds on social media, offers the would-be target a refund on the condition they pay an administration fee.
However, Ryanair has confirmed they will never request passengers to pay administration fees to get refunds they are entitled to.
One individual, who received the email, said it was very convincing.
“I would have gone for it only the refund they were offering was nearly twice what I had paid for the tickets," they said.
The individual, who wishes to remain anonymous in case he is targeted further, believes he was identified as a potential victim after posting about his refund on Twitter.
“I received the email about two hours after I gave out (on Twitter). They had my name, my flight details and all. My email is on my account so I guess it wasn’t hard to find.”
The target of the scam has since removed his social media account, on the advice of his children.
The email contains a banner-head with Ryanair’s logo, and the words “more choice, low fares, great deals”.
It says, “This email is in reference to the conversation you had with one of the refund officers. We are initiating a refund of €1999.00 once the administration of €15.00 is paid. Please ensure that the refund would go on the same card that was used for the booking, also the admin charges to be paid from the same card. please provide the details so that we can process the refund.”
The email then asks for a 14 digit card number, the name on the card and which bank.
“I received the email about two hours after I gave out (on Twitter). They had my name, my flight details and all. My email is on my account so I guess it wasn’t hard to find.”
A spokesperson from Ryanair confirmed the email was fraudulent.
"This is not an official Ryanair refund email and Ryanair can confirm that this is, in fact, a scam," they said.
"Customers must avoid this scam and be aware that Ryanair will only issue a refund when requested by the passenger following the correct and secure procedures.
“Ryanair will never require a passenger to pay a fee to receive the refund they are entitled to and will never request personal or payment information without applying proper security protocols”.
A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said they had not come across this exact scam before, but issued advice on how people can avoid fraud.
“Always say 'no' to unsolicited callers or texters seeking private information about you.
“Independently verify any requests for information and never use the contact details supplied to you by the caller or texter. Independent means independent of the caller or texter.
“The caller may already have some information about you so don’t trust them because they use your name or other personal information.”
