Ten victims lose at least S$9,000 to phishing scam involving tax refunds

Scammers impersonating Iras personnel would inform recipients that they are eligible for refunds due to prior overcharging of payments. -SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

SINGAPORE: About 10 victims have lost at least S$9000 since Dec 9 to scams involving refunds from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras).

The police said on Dec 20 that victims of this phishing scam variant would receive e-mails from scammers impersonating Iras personnel.

The e-mails would inform recipients that they are eligible for refunds due to prior overcharging of payments.

A weblink, which directs victims to a phishing website impersonating the Iras website, would require victims to select their preferred refund method via debit or credit card.

Victims would then enter their bank card details and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) on the phishing website.

They would discover they had been scammed only after receiving notifications of unauthorised transactions made on their debit or credit cards.

The public are advised to adopt precautionary measures such as downloading the ScamShield application, set security features and enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) or Multifactor Authentication for banks, said the police.

They added that the public should check for scam signs with official sources, and to verify the authenticity of claims of problems with income tax status with the official Iras website.

Personal or banking credentials as well as OTPs should never be disclosed to anyone, the police said.

All fraudulent transactions should be reported to the bank immediately. Those with information relating to scams should call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness. - The Straits Times/ANN