Singapore warns of new variants of phishing scams offering tax refunds and involving tax evasion

Members of the public are advised to click on only links with "iras.gov.sg" or "go.gov.sg" in them. - ST

SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): Two new phishing scam variants targeting taxpayers are making their rounds – one offers tax refunds, while another involves alleged unreported income and tax evasion.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) issued a warning to the public on Tuesday (Oct 4).

Unsolicited e-mails with "Iras-gov.sg" in the sender's name would be sent to people, directing them to click on a link in the e-mail to receive a tax refund.

The link redirects users to multiple sites, including a fake myTax Portal login page, where they are prompted to enter personal details such as their full name, phone number, postal code and credit card details.

Another phishing variant targets people through SMS messages, where scammers would solicit information under the guise of "unreported income and tax evasion".

The sender, "Mysgtax", would direct potential victims to click on a link in the message to provide clarification to the alleged accusations.

The link redirects users to a fake Iras website, where they are prompted to enter their full name and credit card details.

To avoid being scammed, members of the public are advised to click on only links with "iras.gov.sg" or "go.gov.sg" in them.

To perform tax transactions safely, taxpayers should log in to Singpass to use the myTax Portal to access relevant forms and services, the Iras said.

In June, Iras released alerts warning the public against scam calls and e-mails that solicit personal information from taxpayers, or prompt them to check on their corporate income tax returns via a fraudulent attached document.

Earlier in the year, it was reported that 51 victims in Singapore fell prey to Iras impersonation scams and lost more than $37,400 in July alone.