Warning over fake Revenue scam messages

There appears to have been a sharp increase today in the numbers being targeted by scam text messages and emails claiming to be from the Revenue Commissioners offering significant tax rebates to anyone who submits personal and financial details online.

“You are now ready to receive your FreeTex ITC Tax Refund payment. Visit www.itcrefund.net and enter your specially assigned ITC Key to be eligible,” the text message reads. Anyone who clicks on the link is then brought to a site which mirrors the Revenue’s own website. It is, however, entirely fake.

Would-be users are asked to submit some details including their name, address and bank account details after which they are told to expect a rebate.

The Revenue Commissioners is aware of the fraudulent text messages and it has issued a warning remind people that the messages did not issue from Revenue and stressing that it never sends unsolicited text messages.

“Anyone who receives an unsolicited text message purporting to be from Revenue and suspects it to be fraudulent or a scam should simply delete it,” is its best advice.

It also says that anyone who provided credit or debit card information in response to the text messages needs to contact their bank or credit card company immediately.

The scam is the latest in a long line of phishing attacks in which criminals lift the design templates of legitimate websites in an attempt to dupe cardholders into providing their bank or credit card account details.

A report on internet security from Symantec published earlier this year found that more than 5 billion scam emails are sent each year with one in every 298 emails described as is a phishing attack seeking information such as passwords or usernames and one in every 239 of those mails affected by viruses.