Lured by refund, 6 taxpayers lost $3k after getting emails from scammers posing as Iras this year

At least six taxpayers lost more than $3,000 this year after getting emails from scammers impersonating the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras).

The taxpayers would receive unsolicited emails purportedly from “Iras”, informing them that they were eligible for refunds due to prior overcharge.

The email recipients would be provided with a link that would direct them to a phishing website masquerading as the Iras website.

Subsequently, they would be required to select their preferred refund method – via debit or credit card.

They would then provide their card details and one-time passwords (OTPs) on the phishing website.

The scam victims would only discover that they had been scammed when they were later notified of unauthorised transactions made on their debit or credit cards.

Iras will never ask for your online banking username/password or your credit/debit card details for tax refund purposes.

Iras processes refunds by automatically refunding any tax credits directly into taxpayers’ registered bank accounts or PayNow-NRIC/FIN/UEN accounts.

Taxpayers can check for updates on any refund at myTax Portal. For further details, please visit the Iras website at www.iras.gov.sg/quick-links/refunds.