Revenue warns taxpayers over email ’refund’ scam

Email purporting to be from Revenue Commissioners urges customers to click link for tax rebate

Josephine Feehily, chairman of the Revenue Commissioners. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times
Josephine Feehily, chairman of the Revenue Commissioners. Photograph: Cyril Byrne/The Irish Times

The Revenue Commissioners has warned the public about an email scam offering tax refunds.

The email, purporting to come from Revenue, informs individuals that after the last annual calculation of their fiscal activity, they are eligible to receive a tax refund, specifying an amount in euros.

It provides a clickable link urging them to submit a “tax refund request” and asks the customer to allow six to nine days to process the refund.

A Revenue spokeswoman confirmed it was aware of the scam and said Revenue was working to have the IP address specific to the sender’s computer shut down.

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In a statement on its website, Revenue said the so-called ’phishing’ emails were headed ‘Claim your Tax Refund Online’.

“These emails did not issue from Revenue. The Revenue Commissioners never send emails requiring customers to send personal information via email or pop-up windows.”

It said anyone who received an email purporting to be from Revenue and suspecting it to be fraudulent or a scam “should simply delete it”.

“ Anyone who is actually awaiting a tax refund should contact their local Revenue office to check its status.

The statement added that anyone who provided personal information in response to these fraudulent emails should contact their bank or credit card company immediately.