Inland Revenue is warning people about a particularly sophisticated email tax scam circulating today.
We have had around 120 calls in the last 12 hours about this and we are keen to prevent people being taken. So we are circulating the information as quickly and widely as possible. We would very much appreciate the media’s assistance in this.
It is a phishing scam where people get an email that looks like it’s from Inland Revenue and also a form that looks very convincing. The email says the recipient has a tax refund waiting for them and that they need to update their financial information in order to receive their refund.
The email address appears as “Inland Revenue Department” but is actually sent from [email protected]. The address is false, but looks convincing to the layperson’s eye.
A form comes as an attachment called TaxReturn.HTM. Again it looks convincing but is fake and designed to collect personal and credit card data.
Inland Revenue urges recipients not to open the attachment.
If you have clicked on the form and submitted any personal or credit card data please contact your bank immediately. We also recommend you contact IDcare (http://www.idcare.org or phone 0800 201 415).
People can also notify Inland Revenue at [email protected].
Examples of the email and the form appear below.
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From: "Inland Revenue Department" <[email protected]> Date: 24 August 2017 at 17:41:31 GMT-6 To: Subject: IRD Refund Status (IRD-1G993) Inland Revenue Department (IRD) 25-August-2017 As you were informed, we have determined that you should receive a tax refund. We have tried to process your refund however, the transaction has not been authorized. Possible reasons are: - Your financial information has been changed or updated; - Error with your personal information (e.g. misspelled name or address). To receive your tax refund, please follow next steps: - Save the attached tax return form and open it in a web browser (e.g. Safari, Firefox or Chrome). - Once opened, you will be provided with the steps to complete and submit your tax return form. Please allow up to 28 days for your refund to be processed. In the meantime, if your financial details are changed, please resubmit the form. If you can't download, open or submit the form, please try using a different browser. Andrew Allen Inland Revenue Department Message ID: IRD029 This mailbox is not monitored and you will not receive a response before to submit the form. To Unsubscribe from future notifications, reply to this email with Unsubscribe in the subject line.
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