Phishing E-Mails Purportedly from IRD Aim at Taxpayers

Canterbury Region, New Zealand-based Cantabrians are being alerted for ignoring a scam e-mail that's pretending to be from IRD (Inland Revenue Department), the government tax-collecting body in New Zealand. Ashburtonguardian.co.nz reported this on April 14, 2011.

Issuing a fake notice, the electronic mail tells the recipient of the message that following the most recent yearly computations of his incomes and expenditures, IRD has found that he's entitled for a tax reimbursement of a specified amount. This amount reportedly is mentioned as $978.50 and $378.50 in two separate e-mails.

There's also a fake web-link of IRD in the scam e-mail that if clicked takes onto a copycat IRD website that solicits debit card information.

In fact, one resident of Ashburton (Canterbury Region) who got the said e-mail in her office stated that she'd have been easily deceived had the e-mail arrived in her home PC. What really appeared doubtful to her was the address to which it was designated. It (e-mail) arrived in her organization's electronic mail ID, whereas her organization, which principally didn't make profit, didn't therefore pay tax. Ashburtonguardian.co.nz published this.

Disturbingly according to security officials, the aforementioned kinds of scam e-mails have been circulating online for long now. In fact, IRD spotted one same type of e-mail pledging recipients $54.90 as tax refund during January 2011.

Remarking about these fake electronic mails, Valerie Price Spokeswoman for IRD stated that devious e-mails did emerge intermittently. But, according to her, the IRD wouldn't ever request netizens through e-mail to provide their bank particulars. 3news.co.nz published this on April 13, 2011.

Commented security researchers, the above type of scammers or financial predators primarily hunted during the tax season. And with taxpayers always concerned if they'd filed their returns accurately, any indication of incorrect file returns caused them to become extremely serious. Scammers were aware of this and they exploited that fear for hooking and conning the public paying taxes.

Eventually, the IRD, which though doesn't itself dispatch e-mails, encourages people to report scam e-mails to it. Hence, taxpayers are suggested to forward any tax-related dodgy e-mail at IRD's formal id before deleting it permanently.

Related article: Phishing With A Redirector Code

» SPAMfighter News - 4/22/2011