NEWS: Irish gangs rent private vaults to hide crypto keys and luxury watches

Regulatory Watch News

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  Europol celebrates the International Day of Police Cooperation

  Europol

  September 7, 2026

  On 7 September, Europol is marking the International Day of Police Cooperation together with its partners to recognise the central role our network plays in tackling the most serious threats against the EU’s internal security. Connecting investigators, expertise, and information across national boundaries is at the heart of Europol. When those connections are strong, law enforcement is better equipped to respond to the threats that cross borders. The International Day of Police Cooperation recognises the vital role this cooperation plays in preventing and combating crime.

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  Scam alert related to banks

  HKMA

  September 7, 2026

  The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to alert members of the public to the press releases issued by the banks listed below relating to fraudulent websites, internet banking login screens, phishing emails or other scams, which have been reported to the HKMA.  Hyperlinks to the press releases are available on the HKMA website.  

  Bank	Type of Scam
  The Bank of East Asia, Limited	Fraudulent website and internet banking login screen
  Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited	Fraudulent website and internet banking login screen
  Chong Hing Bank Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens
  Chiyu Banking Corporation Limited	Fraudulent websites and internet banking login screens
  Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd.	Fraudulent websites

   

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  Payment fraud increases by 27% to reach €179 million in 2025, Central Bank of Ireland report finds

  Central Bank of Ireland

  September 4, 2026

  Central Bank of Ireland today (Friday 4 September) published its annual Payment Fraud Statistics (PDF 352.39KB), which shows the total value of fraudulent payments reported by Irish resident payment service providers increased by around 27% to over €179 million in 2025. The publication shows in 2025:

  • The total fraudulent payment value stood at €179.04 million (up 27.2 per cent from €140.80 million in 2024)
  • Fraud affects approximately 1 in 10,000 payment transactions.
  • While the number of fraud transactions rose only marginally, there was a significant increase in overall fraudulent payment value.
  • Authorised push payment fraud (also known as ‘manipulation of the payer fraud’) - where fraudsters gain trust by using social engineering to deceive consumers into authorising payments—now accounts for 45 per cent of total fraud by value (€74.86 million), up from its share of 35.2 per cent in 2024. This fraud type is particularly prevalent in credit transfers, representing 67.2 per cent of all credit transfer fraud, up from 45.6 per cent in 2024.
  • The average value of fraudulent payments varies according to the payment methods used. Despite a lower fraud rate, cheques recorded the highest average fraud value at €9,741. Credit transfers recorded the second-highest average fraud value at €2,412 in 2025. Payments made using E-money institutions ranked third with a notable spike from €692 in 2024 to €1,427 in 2025.
  • Cross-border payments (payments sent to accounts located outside of Ireland) dominate payment fraud and accounted for 69.8 per cent of the total fraudulent payment value, amounting to €124.89 million. This marks an increase of 6.3 percentage points from 2024.