Criminals are using the Internet and stolen credit card numbers to purchase goods online, which they are then selling on the black market "as new".
The goods, mainly electrical items and even computers, are sold in their original packaging to members of the public unaware that they are about to become the second person to be charged the full amount.
The goods are genuinely unused and unopened but have been bought over the web by somebody who logged on to a web site and then used another person's credit card number to pay for them. Detectives say you don't even need to have your card stolen for the number to be taken down and used freely by criminals.
"This is a very difficult crime to solve, it is secretive and there may be reluctance on the part of the victim of the fraud to report it in case they look foolish," a garda with the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation said.
"We have come across a number of cases where goods have been ordered and delivered to an address where the criminals have a contact. The goods cannot be traced and it is only when the real credit card holder gets his/her bill they realise what has happened," the garda added.
This is a relatively new crime in Ireland but already it has been investigated in Louth and Dublin. There is little doubt it is taking place right around the Republic. In fact, some detectives suspect it is a crime that has been imported from the US and UK where such fraud is commonplace.
"There have been instances where credit card numbers of people from the US have been given to web sites run by Irish companies. Computers have been ordered with such numbers from Gateway and Dell, for example and are delivered to an address. They are then moved to two other addresses before the person who really ordered it comes into the picture."
The Consumers' Association of Ireland says most Internet transactions in Ireland are business to business and purchasing via the web is relatively new.
"Most credit card holders recognize that all they have to do is quote their number over the phone along with the expiry date to conduct a transaction. People should remember that under no circumstances should they write down their credit card number and they should destroy receipts with the number on once they are finished with them," said Mr Dermot Jewel of the association.
Gardai said they would support an additional layer of security for Internet transactions. "Something as simple as the card holder being telephoned back to confirm a purchase could help stop this."