Local Gardaí are appealing to people to be vigilant following reports recently of online loan scams.
They have received a number of calls from people who have applied for online loans on unlawful websites and subsequently discovered they had been scammed.
Gardaí are warning people to exercise caution around websites offering a loan within minutes and requesting fees in advance.
They have warned that these fraudsters will attempt to take advantage of people as the Christmas period approaches and before committing to anything check the Central Bank Of Ireland website to determine if the website or company is registered as a money lender.