Advisory on Scam & Fraudulent Activities
Latest scams
Feb 2021 – Scam letter issued by cryptocurrency investment platform
There have been reports of a suspicious
letter purportedly from IRAS circulating amongst individuals who have invested
in a cryptocurrency platform. The letter requested for the account holder to
make tax payment to a digital payment address before the account could be unlocked.
A screenshot of the scam letter is provided below for reference.
IRAS would like to advise members of the public to ignore such letters as
it is a scam. IRAS will not send tax bills to taxpayers by email nor request
for any tax payments to unlock any investment account. IRAS’ letters and
notices are deposited in the secured tax portal at mytax.iras.gov.sg and
taxpayers may log in to the portal to retrieve them.
To avoid getting scammed, here are some tips on identifying suspicious documents:
- The document is sent through an unsecured email account such as Hotmail, Gmail or other unfamiliar email domains instead of an email address ending with ‘@iras.gov.sg’.
- The document does not include an official sign off with the IRAS officer’s name and designation.
- The message employs scare tactics such as issuing ultimatums in hopes of pressuring you to respond quickly out of fear.
- Instructions to transfer tax payments through unfamiliar payment channels such as cryptocurrency e-wallets.
Those who have been affected by the scam are advised to lodge police reports.
Nov 2020 – Scam Email – ‘Coronavirus Tax
Relief and Economic Impact Payments’
We have been alerted by members of the public of a fake email titled
‘Coronavirus Tax Relief and Economic Impact Payments’. The email purportedly
from IRAS, claimed to be offering a new COVID-19 tax relief, including health
plans, for businesses and individuals affected by the pandemic. The email also
stated that the payments were in progress but met with some delays. The
recipients were requested to check their payment status and download a document
on tax relief for more information.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
IRAS would like to advise members of the public to ignore the email
and not to respond, download attachments or click on any links.
To avoid getting
scammed, here are some tips on identifying suspicious calls and emails:
Email addresses not ending with ‘@iras.gov.sg’
Requests for personal information such as bank account
details and passwords
Requests for immediate payment transfer accompanied by
threats of enforcement action or legal penalties
Mentions of confidential information such as the amount
of taxes owed
Instructions to click on unsecured links or download
attachments for more information
Members of the public who have been affected by the scam are advised
to lodge police reports.
Oct 2020 – Phone and Email Scam – ‘Iras Refund
letter…2015-2018’
A similar email with the subject titled ‘Iras Refund
letter…2015-2018’ has been resurfaced to scam members of the public, informing
them of their tax refund due to overpaid taxes. The scammers would follow up with a phone call in an attempt to
obtain personal details.
IRAS would like to advise members of the public
to ignore any calls and emails received pertaining to such matters. Do not
provide any personal details as requested by the caller nor download any
attachments or click on any links in the scam email.
To avoid
getting scammed, here are some tips on how to identify suspicious emails:
email addresses not ending with ‘@iras.gov.sg’
email asking for your personal details such as
bank account information and password
email mentioning confidential information such
as the amount of taxes owed
Please read more information on what you can expect
for tax refunds.
Sep 2020 – Viber scam calls on immediate
payment of outstanding taxes
Members of the public have reported that they
have received suspicious calls purportedly from IRAS via messaging applications
such as Viber. The scammers would claim to be from IRAS and request for
immediate payment on outstanding taxes. They would further request for confidential
details such as Internet
Banking login credentials and One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to verify the payment.
Unauthorised transactions would then be made from the bank accounts of victims
who provided the details.
Below is a screenshot of the scam
call for reference:
IRAS would like to advise that it does not make
calls through messaging applications such as Viber or WhatsApp. IRAS will also
not ask you to provide confidential details such as bank account login details
over the phone.
Members of the public are advised to ignore
such calls and not to provide any personal or bank account details, make any
payments to a third party’s bank account or follow any instructions by the
caller. Those who have been affected by these scams are advised to lodge police
reports.
July 2020 – Phone and Email Scam - ‘Iras Refund
letter… 2017 – 2019’
Members of the public have reported to us that they have received suspicious calls from scammers impersonating IRAS officers, informing them of their tax refund due to overpaid taxes and requesting for their bank account details. The scammers would follow up with an email with
subject title ‘Iras Refund letter…2017-2019’.
IRAS would like to advise members of the public to ignore any calls and emails received pertaining to such matters. Do not provide your personal details as requested by the caller nor download any attachments or click on any links in the scam email.
What you can expect for tax refunds
Tax refunds due to you are sent by cheque to your registered address or credited directly to your bank account if you have been paying your taxes by GIRO.
If IRAS requires information from you, it would be useful to know that IRAS will not disclose nor solicit your personal details or any confidential information by email. The name of the officer sending the email will be shown clearly. IRAS officers will direct you
to use the FormSG on the IRAS website
(‘Direct Credit Authorisation to Bank account in Singapore’ or ‘Telegraphic Transfer/Bank Draft to Foreign Bank Account’) to furnish your personal details and bank account information, if required.
If you are writing to IRAS on confidential matters, you are encouraged to use myTax Mail which requires the use of SingPass to log in via myTax Portal, for added security.
To avoid getting scammed, here are some tips on how to identify suspicious emails:
email addresses not ending with ‘@iras.gov.sg’
email asking for your personal details such as bank account information and password
email mentioning confidential information such as the amount of taxes owed
Members of the public who have been affected by the scam are advised to lodge police reports.
June 2020 – Scam
call on government payouts
Scammers pretending to be from IRAS have been calling on unsuspecting members of the public and threatening to withhold their government payouts, such as the Self-Employed Person Relief Scheme (SIRS) payout, if they do not pay up on their taxes.
IRAS would like to advise members of the public to ignore such calls and not to follow any instructions by the caller.
Those who are eligible for SIRS payouts will be notified by NTUC via letter or SMS. The payouts will be credited directly to the recipient’s bank account or mailed out via cheque to the recipient’s address. For more information on SIRS, please visit
the
NTUC website.
Those who have been affected by the scam are advised to lodge police reports.
June
2020 – Scam Email – ‘Tax payment’
Members of the public are advised to ignore a scam email titled ‘Tax payment’. Please do not respond to the email, further circulate the email, click on any links or download attachments if any.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Apr 2020 – Scam Calls Requesting for Personal and Bank Account Details in the Pretext of Making Tax Refunds or Imposing Fines
There have been reports by members of the public that they have received suspicious calls from scammers who claimed to be from IRAS, asking them to provide their personal and bank account details due to failed transfer of tax refunds or payment of fines for their tax crimes. The phone number displayed on the phone screen included '65659913', ‘62691422’,'+65-62691422', '+65-65659913', '+65-62607797', '+65-63661302', '+65-67819652', ‘+65-65659913’,'+65-68932159' and '+65-91322819'.
To detect spoof calls, members of the public are advised to exercise care when answering local calls showing a ‘+’ sign prefix, as these are likely to be overseas calls masking their country code or impersonating local numbers to mislead potential victims.
IRAS will not call taxpayers to ask for bank account details to make tax refunds or request for payment of fines. For tax refund matters, we will correspond with taxpayers via email or SMS to call our office’s telephone number.
Members of the public who receive such calls are advised to ignore the call and any instructions provided by the caller. Those who have been affected by the scam are advised to lodge police reports.
Mar 2020 - Scam calls with Automated Voice Messages
Members of the public have alerted us that they have received calls with automated voice messages informing them to file their taxes and make payment. The voice message further instructs them to press ‘1’ to verify their details and upon doing so, it will be routed to a person who
claims to be an IRAS officer requesting for personal information. The caller ID displayed different mobile phone numbers that included ‘+65 97779491’, ‘97775096’ and ‘97778762’.
IRAS would like to advise that it does not use mobile phones with automated messaging systems to contact taxpayers. For verification purposes, our officers will send a One-Time-PIN (OTP) via SMS to taxpayer’s registered mobile number or ask for your previous tax transactions with IRAS.
Please ignore such calls and the instructions given by the caller. Those who have been affected by the scam are advised to lodge police reports.
Mar 2020
– Scam calls
There have been several reports from members of the public that they have received calls from scammers who claimed that they have court orders and lawsuits with IRAS and they have to transfer their unpaid taxes immediately. The phone numbers displayed on the caller ID are IRAS’ helpline
numbers that included “63568300” and “63568233”. Scammers may have used the spoofing technique to mask their real numbers and instead manipulate IRAS’ caller IDs displayed on the phone.
IRAS will not ask you to make a payment to a third party’s bank account through a telephone call. Members of the public who receive such calls are advised to ignore the call and any instructions provided by the caller. Those who have been affected by the scam
are advised to lodge police reports.
Feb 2020 - Scam Email - 'Important notice regarding your tax information'
Members of the public are advised to ignore a scam email titled 'Important notice regarding your tax information’. Please do not respond to the email, further circulate the email nor click on the link provided.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Dec 2019 - Scam Email -
'Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore-Refund-Online-Confirmation'
Members of the public are advised to ignore an image of a scam email titled 'Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore-Refund-Online-Confirmation' that has been re-circulating on WhatsApp. Please do not respond to the email nor further circulate the image.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Nov 2019 - Scam Email on '30 Nov 2019 Corporate Tax Filing'
The Corporate Tax filing due date is near and scammers are taking this opportunity to trick taxpayers into giving out their personal information which may be used for fraudulent purposes. Please do not respond to this scam email with subject heading '30 Nov 2019 Corporate Tax Filing' nor download the file attached in the email. Members of the public are advised to lodge a police report if they received such emails.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference:
Nov 2019 - Scam Email
Members of the public who received email with subject heading 'Tax Invoice from Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)' are advised to ignore it and not to download the document attached in the email.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Oct 2019 - Scam Email 'Corporate Income Return for YA 2019'
Companies are advised to be vigilant and not fall into the trap of scam emails during this Corporate Tax Filing season. Similar scam email with subject heading 'Corporate Income Return for YA 2019' has been surfacing again. Please do not download the file attached in the email as it may contain computer virus. Any person who has received the scam email may wish to consider lodging a police report.
Sep 2019 - Scam Email
Members of the public are advised not to respond to the scam email as shown in the screenshot below. If you have responded and shared your personal or financial information, you are advised to lodge a police report, change your passwords on your online accounts and contact your banks to stop any transactions.
Aug 2019
- Scam Email - 'Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore-Refund-Online-Confirmation'
Members of the public are advised to ignore an image of a scam email titled 'Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore-Refund-Online-Confirmation' that has been circulating on WhatsApp. Please do not respond to the email nor further circulate the image.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
There have been reports from several members of the public that they received calls from scammers impersonating IRAS officers. The phone number displayed on the caller ID included 1800 3568300, and the scammer requested for outstanding tax amount to be paid. Members of the public who receive such calls are advised to ignore the instructions given by the caller.
- Scam Email - 'Tax Invoice from Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)'
An email scam is doing the rounds using IRAS' name, with attachments of 'invoices', to trick people to make payments.
The email address does not end with 'iras.gov.sg' which is a tell-tale sign that it is not an authentic email.
Members of the public are advised to ignore the email and not to click or download the attachments.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Jun 2019 - Scam Email
Members of the public are advised to ignore emails that are sent from
mytax@iras.gov.sg with attachment on Corporate Income Tax Return status. The attachment may contain computer virus and you are advised not to click or download it.
Companies can view their Corporate Tax filing status by logging in to
myTax Portal or using the
Corporate Tax Integrated Phone Service.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
May 2019 - Scam Email
Members of the public who receive emails from
iras@iras.com with the subject heading "Update Your Tax Information." are advised not to download the document attached in the email.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Apr 2019 - Scam Calls
There have been reports from several members of the public that they received calls from scammers impersonating IRAS officers. The phone numbers displayed on the caller ID included 97812000 and 63568387, and several of the calls involved requesting of credit card information and tax refunds.
IRAS does not request credit card details by phone. Members of the public who receive such calls are advised to ignore the instructions given by the caller. Those who have been affected by the scam are advised to lodge police reports.
Feb 2019 - Scam Email - "Your IRAS 2018 Tax Report!!!"
A scam email that mimics IRAS email address ending with "@iras.gov.sg" with the subject heading "Your IRAS 2018 Tax Report!!!" has been circulating to members of the public. Please ignore and do not download the attachment in the email.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Dec 2018 – Scam
Email – “Your tax records and open statements December 2018: The money for the
state budget is also your money!”
Members of the public who receive emails with the subject heading “Your tax records and open statements December 2018: The money for the state budget is also your money!” are advised not to click on any link or download the attachment in the email.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Nov 2018 - Scam Calls with Automated Voice Messages
There have been reports from members of the public that they have received scam calls with automated voice messages, claiming to be calling on behalf of IRAS regarding investigations on a fraudulent case. The caller would also request for a return call. The phone number displayed on the caller ID include '3108 0946'.
IRAS would like to advise that it does not use automated messaging systems to contact members of the public for such purposes. Please ignore such calls and the caller's instructions. Members of the public who have received such calls are advised to lodge a police report.
Aug 2018 - Scam Email - "Update Your Tax Information."
Members of the public who receive emails with the subject heading "Update Your Tax Information." are advised not to download the document attached in the email.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Jun 2018 - Scam Email - "VALIDATE YOUR TAX INFORMATION"
Members of the public who receive emails with the subject heading "VALIDATE YOUR TAX INFORMATION" are advised not to click on any link or download the PDF attachment in the email.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference
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Jun 2018 - Scam Calls
There have been reports from members of the public that they have received calls from scammers impersonating as IRAS officers, requesting them to provide their credit card numbers to get a tax refund. The phone numbers displayed on the caller ID included '91835521' and '63562144'.
IRAS does not request credit card details by phone. Members of the public who receive such calls are advised to ignore the instructions given by the caller. Those who have been affected by the scam are advised to lodge police reports.
Apr 2018 - Scam Email - "TAX INFORMATION UPDATE"
Members of the public who receive emails with the subject heading "TAX INFORMATION UPDATE" are advised not to download the PDF attachment and provide your personal information.
A screenshot of the scam email is provided below for reference.
Feb 2018 - Scam Calls
There have been reports from members of the public that they have received suspicious calls from persons claiming to be IRAS officers, asking them to pay their outstanding taxes immediately via an ATM bank transfer to an unknown account. The phone number displayed on the caller IDs included IRAS' Individual Income Tax helpline “63568300”.
IRAS does not make telephone calls asking taxpayers to transfer money to third party's bank account. Members of the public who receive such calls are advised to ignore the instructions given by the caller and are encouraged to lodge police reports if they have fallen victim to such frauds.
If you receive any other suspicious phone calls, we advise that you request the caller’s full name, telephone number and department, and validate this through our QSM helpline at 1800 356 8225.
Past Scams and Fraudulent Correspondence (347KB, PDF)
There have been reported cases of individuals receiving emails, letters, Short Message Services (SMS), or phone calls purportedly from IRAS, requesting you to do one or more of the following:
- Open an email link or file attachment to review your income or tax statement;
- Transfer a sum of money, supposedly for tax purposes, to accounts belonging to named individuals (usually an overseas account); and/or
- Pay sums of money to named individuals (usually a party not residing in Singapore) before an inheritance/estate of a deceased party is released.
- Provide your bank account numbers to claim tax refunds, enjoy cash rewards, or pay outstanding tax bills; and/or
- Provide confidential personal information such as personal particulars, personal identification numbers, passwords and bank account numbers, either by completing a form on a website or to someone who impersonates as IRAS staff.
For your own interest, please be extra careful when you receive unsolicited emails, letters, SMSes, phone calls, online chats or all other forms of communication asking you to provide confidential or personal information. Under no circumstances should you give personal information including credit card or banking details to third parties via email, letter, SMS or phone.
Important Note:
- Lately, scam emails that mimic IRAS’ email address ending with “
@iras.gov.sg” have been sent to some members of the public. Certain parts of the email details have been changed by the scammers to make them appear as if the email was sent by IRAS. Such scam emails usually carry a file attachment requesting the recipients to open it. You are advised not to click on any link or open any attachment in the email as it may contain computer virus.
- IRAS does not send out official emails from personal email accounts such as Hotmail, Gmail, or other unfamiliar email domains. IRAS’ email replies are usually signed off with an officer's name, designation and contact information. IRAS also does not send out confidential documents such as tax return forms, notices of assessment, refund letters or other tax statements through unsecured emails. Confidential documents are deposited in the secured tax portal at mytax.iras.gov.sg. Taxpayers may log in to the portal using their SingPass to retrieve their tax statements or e-File their tax returns via mytax.iras.gov.sg.
- IRAS will not ask you to provide your confidential personal details through emails. We encourage you to use
myTax Mail to correspond with IRAS. If your enquiry contains confidential information, we will respond to you via myTax Mail.
- IRAS officers will not call you outside of our helpline operating hours (Mondays to Fridays: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.). If you receive any suspicious phone calls, we advise that you request the caller’s full name, telephone number and department, and validate this through our QSM helpline at 1800 356 8225.
- For payments to IRAS made via Internet Banking, DBS Paylah!, ATM Bill Payment and AXS Mobile and Internet, you have to select ‘IRAS’ from the list of payees.
- When you make a cheque payment for tax, it must only be made payable to one of the relevant payees, as given below :
- Comptroller of Income Tax
- Comptroller of Goods & Services Tax
- Comptroller of Property Tax
- Commissioner of Stamp Duties
- Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore
How to recognise scams
Here are some tips to recognise a scam:
- Promises of money for little or no effort
- Deals that sound too good to be true
- Peculiar email addresses and website URLs
How to verify if the officer is indeed from IRAS
For face-to-face engagements, the officer will present an IRAS identification card.
For phone engagements, the officer will send an official email to inform you of the scheduled call. You can ask the officer to quote your Tax Reference Number (i.e. NRIC).
You can also verify the officer’s identity by calling IRAS at 6351 2044/ 6351 2046 or the dedicated hotline stated in the email or letter.
How to report a scam
Anyone who has received a suspicious email, letter, SMS or phone call purportedly from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) should immediately contact IRAS to verify the authenticity of such request.
Do not respond to them or click on any hyperlink in the email. In the case of suspicious phone calls, you should request for the caller’s full name, telephone number and department and validate this through our QSM helpline at 1800 356 8225.
If you suspect that you have responded to a phishing scam with personal or financial information, you are advised to:
- lodge a police report;
- change the passwords or PINs on all your online accounts; and
- contact your banks to stop any transactions.