The ads lure shoppers with fake offers and direct them to counterfeit websites which are designed to steal personal and financial information.

It comes following Friday’s Leaving Certificate results and this week’s third-level CAO offers

The majority of consumers (78 per cent) are now being targeted with scam texts, emails, or calls at least once a month.

A survey of 2,000 Irish adults by a global money app indicates that the vast majority think scams are getting more sophisticated.

Eight out of 10 consumers plan to shop online in the run up to Christmas, with only three per cent saying they never shop online.

The bank is warning its customers that if they get a call from someone who asks them to go to a website or to click on a link that they send, to just hang up.