The Bank of Ireland has backtracked on an earlier decision and has agreed to refund victims of a phishing scam in which customers lost a total of €113,000 (£76,770). 

The bank had previously claimed that "customers' personal log-on information is their responsibility and customers should never disclose this information to anyone".

Several customers lost between €5,000 and €16,000 after typing their log-in details into fake websites, and one user is thought to have had €49,000 removed from their account.

Financial institutions in Ireland have set up the High-Tech Crime Forum in response to the growing problem of cyber-crime and to deal with future attacks. The group is still being set up but it is expected to meet every two months.

Police involvement in the body means that it may have access to fraud information from across Europe provided by Interpol and Europol.