Consumers warned about internet tax refund scam
The public was today urged to be wary of an internet scam where tax refunds are being promised in exchange for credit card and passport details.
A bogus email is being sent out under the Revenue Commissioners banner asking for people’s passport number and expiry date, as well as name, address and date of birth.
It is understood nobody has fallen victim to the phishing message, but the Department of Foreign Affairs warned it would never send emails asking for passport details.
“We have no reports of anyone being caught but we just wanted to send this out as a precautionary measure,” a Department spokeswoman said.
The email is headlined ’You are eligible to receive a tax refund!’ and links to a reproduction of the revenue.ie website.
The department was notified by the Revenue Commissioners, which had been made aware of the scam by a member of the public.
