Irish people are the second most likely citizens of the 27 EU member states to be the victims of fraudulent phone calls, a survey revealed.
The poll, published by the European Commission shows 28% of Irish people have received a call over the past year from an unknown number and been charged for it after answering or calling back.
And 12% claimed it had happened more than once.
The figure is more than double the EU average of 13%, with only Greece having a higher proportion of citizens experiencing the same problem at 38%.
Similarly, 29% of Irish people said they had received an unsolicited text message and been charged after opening it or responding which was also the 2nd highest ranking amongst EU countries after Greece.
The incidence of bogus calls and texts has been increasing in recent years with An Garda Siochana and the telecom regulator ComReg issuing regular warning notices to the public about fraudulent calls, texts and emails seeking to extract personal information such as bank details.
The Eurobarometer poll of more than 27,200 people, including over 1,000 in the Republic, which focused on e-communications also highlighted how Irish consumers are the Europeans most likely to switch provider when it comes to providers of bundled services packages for home phone, broadband and TV.
And, according to the survey, 18% of Irish people increased the speed of their internet connection because of the restriction measures introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic – the highest level in the EU.
Irish consumers have the 2nd highest rate of making international calls and 68% make some form of communication to other EU member states on a regular basis compared to the EU average of 26%.