Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has issued a warning over a new text message scam going around and is urging people not to click on any links.
The scam text message, seen by Newshub, asks Kiwis to update their details to process a payment.
"After further review, you are due a tax refund. Please visit and enter your details to process your payment at: https://ird-gov-nz.line.pm/ret/GovttNz," the text message read.
When Newshub sent IRD a picture of the text message, its media spokesperson Gay Cavill confirmed it was a scam and said she even received it.
Cavill told Kiwis not to click on the link and asked them to send it to phishing@ird.govt.nz.
Netsafe's chief online safety officer Sean Lyons told Newshub it has seen an increase in reports of multiple text-based scams using a range of service providers as part of the hook.
Organisations and brands like IRD, Waka Kotahi, NZ Post and banks and many others have all been used in this way.
"The scam is designed to catch people unaware, will have an urgency in their language, and will lead to requests for payments, personal details or login credentials," Lyons said.
- If you receive one of these messages, there are a number of actions that you can take;
- Block or report the number on your device,
- Report the message to the DIA's 7726 txt line
- Delete the message
- Contact Netsafe if you are unsure of the best next step for you.
If you have engaged with the scammers by clicking the link, providing information, or made a payment then you should;
- Contact the payment provider (your bank or credit card company to let them know what has happened.
- If you have provided personal information (like a passport or driver's licence number) then contact the issuer of the information and check whether you need to replace those credentials with them.
"If you are unsure of what the right step to take is, you can contact the team at Netsafe for further advice and guidance," Lyons said.
The Inland Revenue previously put out a warning to New Zealanders to be wary of scammers during the 2023 'tax season'.
IRD said it would send around 3.5 million tax assessments, mainly using the customer's myIR accounts as well as the post. These will be sent out from late May to the end of July.
The assessments show whether there is a refund due, a bill to pay or whether the right amount was paid for the 2022/23 tax year.
"Tax is vital to New Zealand life, but it can be complicated. That's why Inland Revenue has an information campaign running to tell people what to expect, and when, based on their situation," IRD said in May.
"Scammers know when it is tax season and target this time of the tax year to try to rip people off and gain access to bank accounts and other personal information."
IRD said it would only pay funds directly into the bank account it has on record and would ask people to log in to their myIR account from www.ird.govt.nz.
"Do not click on any links you receive in emails or text messages, it is always safer to type in the address directly to your web browser and navigate from there," IRD said.
The Inland Revenue also said it would never put the dollar amount of a refund in an email or text message and would not ask for your credit or debit card details in pay a refund.
"We will also never ask you to reply to an email or text message to provide your bank account details," IRD said.
IRD added it would also never speak to customers threateningly.
"Anyone can get caught out. Scammers may call, text or email promising a tax refund if people provide personal details. If it seems too good to be true, it's probably a scam," IRD said.
"To provide an additional layer of protection, we strongly recommend you enable two-factor authentication - more details can be found at: https://www.ird.govt.nz and search for 'two-step verification.'"
