Gardaí have issued a warning over scam messages which appear to be from Revenue.
The fraudulent emails and text messages claim to be from the tax agency to seek a person’s personal information or bank account details.
Gardaí say there has been an increase in reports from people who have received such calls / texts / emails.
Image: Garda Siochana
If you receive one of these messages, the advice is:
1. Do not respond to text messages / email that request your personal information such as bank account, PIN number or online banking password or any other password
2. Be wary of unsolicited emails or text messages that purport to come from a reputable organisation, such as a Revenue, bank or credit card company
3. Never visit a website from a link provided in an email or text and then enter your personal details because this website could be a fake website
4. If you think you might have responded to a smishing text message / phishing email message and provided your bank account details, contact your bank immediately and notify Gardaí.
Revenue have recently issued the following warning to their website in relation to these scams:
“This week the Revenue Commissioners have become aware of fraudulent emails and SMS (text messages) purporting to come from Revenue. Some of these seek personal information (name, address, date of birth) from taxpayers and/or seek credit card, debit card or bank account details in connection with a tax or wage subsidy refund.
“These emails and text messages did not issue from Revenue.
“The Revenue Commissioners never send emails or text messages requiring customers to send personal information via email, text or pop-up windows.
“Anyone who receives an email or text message purporting to be from Revenue and suspects it to be fraudulent or a scam should simply delete it. Anyone who is actually awaiting a tax or wage subsidy refund should contact their Revenue Office to check its status.
“Anyone who provided personal information in response to these fraudulent emails or text messages should contact their bank or credit card company immediately.”