Warning about fraudsters impersonating tax officials during tax filing.
The main tactic used by these individuals is to impersonate tax officials, making phone calls, sending text messages, adding friends on Zalo, and instructing them to install fake software mimicking tax authority applications... with the aim of stealing information and misappropriating assets.
Recently, there has been a surge in cases involving certain individuals.impersonating tax officialsTax authorities are engaging in fraudulent activities, especially during the peak tax filing season, and several people have fallen victim to these scams.
The main tactic used by these individuals is to impersonate tax officials, making phone calls, sending text messages, adding people on Zalo, providing links and instructions for taxpayers to file tax returns, and guiding them to install fake software mimicking tax authority applications, with the aim of stealing personal information, bank account information, and misappropriating assets.
Notably, some individuals even impersonated government officials, sending links to the VneID public service program, thereby gaining control of the phone and stealing all the money.bank account.
The General Department of Taxation once again affirms that it does not authorize any organization or individual outside the tax sector to collect taxes on its behalf; at the same time, it warns taxpayers that when receiving calls like the ones mentioned above, they should carefully check the content, not rush to answer or follow the instructions in the message, and contact the tax authority directly through official channels for support to avoid being exploited by fraudsters.
Taxpayers should note that the official website of the tax authority uses a specific protocol."https”and the Vietnamese national domain name.vn". (The General Department of Taxation's website has the domain name: https://www.gdt.gov.vn).
The General Department of Taxation requests that in cases where individuals receive messages, calls on social media platforms, or calls with signs of fraud, they should save evidence (such as messages or call recordings), report it to the telecommunications company for handling, and simultaneously provide evidence to the relevant authorities of the Ministry of Public Security and the nearest tax office to request action against the perpetrators.
5 common tactics used by scammers.
- Individuals using phone numbers and posing as tax officials request information and images of citizen identification cards to assist with tax reduction, refund, and tax settlement procedures, as well as to facilitate inspections. They also make calls instructing users to install applications (Apps) to receive information from the tax authorities.
- Scammers create websites with interfaces that closely resemble those of agencies and businesses, from images to content, to mislead users into believing they are the official website of the provider.
- The tactic involves impersonating the General Department of Taxation's brand name via SMS messages to spread fake information.
- Impersonating tax authorities to make threatening phone calls and using fraudulent schemes to extort money from taxpayers.
- By impersonating government officials offering public services and requesting information and images of citizen identification cards, the perpetrators then send fraudulent links and instructions to gain control of the phone and steal all the money from the bank account.