Trusted Flagger – Frauds & Scams

Central Bank of Ireland was granted “Trusted Flagger” status by Coimisiún na Meán in April 2025. This accreditation strengthens our ability to protect consumers from online financial scams and fraud, and runs for an initial 3 year period until April 2028. The Central Bank was the first entity to be granted Trusted Flagger status in Ireland, and the first in Europe to be appointed as  a Trusted Flagger in respect of financial frauds and scams.

The Trusted Flagger initiative was introduced under the Digital Services Act. A Digital Services Coordinator can award Trusted Flagger status to entities, within designated areas of expertise, who have a unique competence to identify specific types of illegal online content. The Central Bank's stated area of expertise is financial scams and frauds, including the provision and/or offer of financial services without authorisation.

The Central Bank receives and investigates reports of suspected instances of parties offering financial services/products without required authorisation. A significant volume of these reports relate to matters which occur online. Certain online platforms are now legally obliged to ensure that any illegal online content reported by the Central Bank regarding financial scams and fraud is prioritised by the platforms and dealt with in a timely manner.

Reports of illegal content other than financial frauds and scams and unauthorised financial services should be directed to the authorities who can respond to them.