Dublin man who allowed bank account to be used in ‘smishing’ fraud is spared jail

Josh Reidy (23) pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing over €19,000 as the proceeds of crime at unknown locations within the State on August 30, 2021 and July 21, 2022.

The court heard that “smishing” involves the use of sending text messages containing spurious links purporting to be from banks or other financial institutions. When the injured party clicks on the link, they are brought to a website and money is rerouted to other people's bank accounts.

At a sentence hearing earlier this month the court heard that Bank of Ireland has managed to recoup all of the money, apart from €900, for its two customers who were victims of this offence.

Judge Orla Crowe accepted that Reidy made admissions, co-operated with the garda investigation and has no previous convictions.

She said “time and time again” the courts see smishing scams “where people are lured into clicking links” in what the judge described as “sophisticated operations”.

Judge Crowe accepted, however, that Reidy was not “the author” of the fraud.

She said the case warranted a headline sentence of two years before she imposed a sentence of 18 months which she suspended in full on strict conditions including that Reidy continue in his drug rehabilitation.

Detective Garda Jason Weir told Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting, at the earlier hearing, that the alarm was raised when a Bank of Ireland customer in Clonakilty reported a suspicious transaction in August 2021.

The victim had been sent a link to what he believed was a genuine Bank of Ireland webpage and subsequently noticed that €19,421 had been withdrawn from his account without his permission.

Bank of Ireland stopped the transaction, recalled the funds and traced the transaction to a German banking company called N26.

This company provided details of the beneficiary of the transaction, an account holder who turned out to be Reidy, then living on Sundrive Road in Dublin.

Gardaí searched Reidy's home under warrant while he was in hospital for an operation and found his passport and a Bank of Ireland withdrawal slip.

Meanwhile, a Bank of Ireland customer in Co Galway notified gardaí of a suspicious withdrawal from her account of €19,877 on July 21, 2022.

The beneficiary account was again traced to Reidy, whose current address is Landsdowne Gate apartments, Drimnagh, Co Dublin.

Bank of Ireland was only able to recall €18,973 of this second withdrawal, leaving the customer at a total loss of €904.

Reidy met gardaí by arrangement and was arrested.

He said he had a drug debt of about €3,000 for cocaine and that he had been made to give his passport and mobile phone details to other people for the purpose of paying off this debt.

His drug bill was to be reduced by €500 for handing over his phone number, the court heard.

Gda Weir agreed with defence counsel Luigi Rea BL that Reidy was cooperative with gardaí and answered every question. It was also accepted that Reidy had been threatened.

Mr Rea said Reidy described “an atmosphere of fear and dread” with his life when he got caught up with this group who “punched him a few times” and also threatened his mother.

The court heard that Reidy has a good work history and hopes to resume work in January.

“He was by no means the brains behind this operation,” said Mr Rea.