SCAM ALERT: IRAS tax “reffund” notification

A notification by what seems to be from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) regarding a tax refund is actually a new scam that members of the public have shared on social media to raise awareness.

“New scam,” wrote a Facebook group Complaint Singapore member on Thursday (Nov 3), attaching a screenshot of a message notification by IRAS.

The message reads, “Tax 2022, after the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have detirlined that you are eligible to receive an amount of tax refund: 450SGD. To claim your refund, please fill in your information by clicking the link below…”

The message includes a disclaimer on the possible delays for the refund due to invalid information submitted.

The notification was signed off with “2022, Government of Singapore.”

Members from the online community found humour in the message, urging scammers to proofread their messages first before sending them.

“They should check for typos first before even thinking of scamming anyone,” said Facebook user Rita Goh.

Meanwhile, others pointed out that refunds such as these were highly unlikely.

“You know it’s a scam when they say the government IRAS will refund you the money because they never do. They will just say the amount will be deducted from your next year’s income tax,” explained Facebook user Adam Ali.

It appears that others have also received the same message and warned the public to take caution.

A similar phishing scam was highlighted by the public a few months ago by scammers impersonating the national water agency PUB.

The email also contained the misspelt word “reffund” sparking comments from netizens that the poor spelling was a dead giveaway of the scam. /TISG

Netizen warns of ‘PUB’ refund scam, wrong spelling is the dead giveaway