It seems like the scammers are absorbing the Singaporean lifestyle like a sponge.
From pretending to be a friend on Whatsapp to being a local bank, this time the scammers are imitating the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)
Iras Warns of Fake Emails Sent to Individuals for ‘Outstanding Tax Payments’
Emails from the IRAS have shown up in various Singaporeans’ inboxes, demanding “outstanding tax payments” from them. Naturally, if you do not remember if you paid your tax for the year, you will panic and click on whatever is there. However, hold your horses for the email is a scam.
According to the IRAS, these emails will have “Outstanding tax payments” in the subject header. The email will also be from “Singapore Government Tax Authority”.
In the message, it will state that the individual has overdue taxes and should visit their bank or tax office with the tax receipts attached to the email.
There will be a few seemingly harmful documents attached to the emails, posing as the “tax receipts” or “tax records”.
The IRAS advised us not to open or download the documents in the email for they may contain malicious computer viruses.
Additionally, they also advised recipients of such emails to ignore the emails.
Those who have already downloaded these documents should file police reports.
Iras Does Not Send Taxpayers Payment Statement and Tax Notices Over Email
In case you’re unsure of how the IRAS work, they do not email taxpayers their payment statement and notices over email.
You will have to log in to your Singpass to access the myTax portal and that is where you can retrieve your payment statements and tax-related documents.
WhatsApp Scam Calls
This is not the first time that scammers have decided to pretend to be the IRAS and demand money from our already broke citizens.
In August, some people have reported that they received suspicious calls from the “IRAS”. However, it seems like the “IRAS” want to save some money for they used WhatsApp to call these people instead of a normal phone call.
Those who picked up the phone said the “IRAS” would inform these taxpayers of the penalty they faced from unpaid taxes. They would then further request to verify their credit card details for payment of the penalty.
The real IRAS gave advice regarding this situation:
- Do not pick up such calls
- If you decided to pick up, do not provide any personal, credit card or bank account details
- Do not make any payments to a third party’s bank account or follow any instructions by the caller
- Lodge a police report if affected
Do take note, the IRAS does not make calls through messaging applications like WhatsApp. They are not out to save some moolahs on their landline.
They will also not ask you to verify your bank details or credit card details over the phone.
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Featured Image: Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
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