Revenue warning over ‘phishing’, ‘smishing’ scams

THE Revenue Commissioners have warned taxpayers about a so called ‘phishing’ scam after people reported receiving emails claiming to come from them.

Phishing is a scam where bogus emails are sent to people in order to trick them into divulging sensitive personal or financial information.

People following the link in the email will be taken to a fake web page that will attempt to trick them into entering information such as a PIN, password, PPSN or bank account information.

That information can them be used in a number of ways for example applying for a credit card in the person’s name or withdrawing cash from their bank account.

Phishing emails may pretend to come from government departments such as Revenue, as well as banks, credit card companies and online stores.

The can often contain realistic looking logos, official sounding text and can even carry a warning about phishing.

The agency said that the latest emails, which seeking personal information in connection with a tax refund or credit/debit card details do not originate from them

“The Revenue Commissioners never send messages requiring customers to send personal information via email or pop-up windows,” said a Revenue spokesperson.

“Anyone who received an email purporting to be from the Revenue and suspects it to be fraudulent or a scam should forward it to webmaster@revenue.ie then delete it.”

The agency said anyone who may be awaiting a refund should contact their local Revenue office to check on its status.

“Those who may have provided personal information in response to these fraudulent emails should contact their bank or credit card company immediately.”

Revenue also warned people to be aware of ‘smishing’ scams where unsolicited texts are sent to mobile phones containing a link to a fraudulent website or phone number in order to collect personal information.

“Please remember that Revenue never send unsolicited text messages. If you receive an unsolicited text message purporting to be from Revenue with a link to a website you should ignore it,” said the spokesperson.