Warning about the trick of impersonating tax officials to commit fraud in Nghe An
Recently, there have been cases of bad guys impersonating tax authorities to call, text, scam and steal information and assets of taxpayers.
Many scams
Recently, on July 30, 2024, Ms. Pham Thi Huyen, a small trader at Mo market in Hau Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, received an invitation from the Yen Thanh district Tax Department, requesting her to be present at the Yen Thanh district Tax Department at 9:00 a.m. on August 1 to update information about businesses and individuals on the Government portal, and re-inspect the import and export of value-added invoices in 2024. When going, she must bring her citizen identification card and passport.
The subject also called Ms. Huyen and if she could not come, asked to be friends via Zalo, Facebook, or other chat software... to guide her through online operations.
Upon receiving the notice, Ms. Huyen went to the Bac Nghe II Regional Tax Department branch in Yen Thanh district to present herself and the Tax Department leader said that these were fake documents that needed to be vigilant to avoid fraud. Specifically, the official documents were all wrong, such as currently there is no Yen Thanh District Tax Department, but the Bac Nghe II Regional Tax Department, the business location of Mo market hamlet, Hau Thanh commune, the document was written as Mo market hamlet, Chau Thanh commune, the signature of the Deputy Head of the Department was also wrong in both full name and surname.
However, the invitation letter contained the correct name of the business household. According to tax officials at the Bac Nghe II Regional Tax Department, if a small business household sends its citizen identification to the subject, it will be susceptible to online financial fraud.
Mr. Tran Van T., a business owner in Dien Ky commune, Dien Chau district, recently received a call from a strange phone number pretending to be an officer of the Bac Nghe II Tax Department, asking the company director to install an application to make a VAT reduction application. Being vigilant against the tricks of the scammers, the director of this unit called the tax officer of the Bac Nghe II Tax Department to verify and avoided the scam.
According to the reflection of some newly established enterprises in Hung Nguyen and Nam Dan districts, some subjects used phone numbers 0888590131, 0833275409, 0562321249... pretending to be officers of the Song Lam II Regional Tax Department to call and request enterprises to bring their legal documents and records to the tax authority to install the application, carry out tax standardization procedures, prepare tax refund dossiers for projects, and exempt or reduce taxes for newly established enterprises...
In case you cannot come, connect to Zalo for instructions, as well as log in to the link http://dvc.gov.lol for online support.
However, after accessing the above link, the entire phone system lost control, could not operate or turn on or off. Or the subjects called businesses to suggest buying tax law manuals...
Work together to prevent
Mr. Dinh Viet Dung - Deputy Head of the Bac Nghe II Tax Department said: Since the beginning of 2024, the Department has received feedback from over 150 people and businesses in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts about being threatened by subjects claiming to be tax officials, asking them to provide information, send citizen identification images to be supported in tax reduction and refund procedures, or instructions to send links to install applications to steal money from taxpayers' bank accounts.
However, the tax authority does not have a policy of sending tax officials to call to connect social networks such as Zalo, Facebook, request support for installation, nor does it require businesses and business households to bring their business registration certificates, business household registration certificates, and citizen identification cards to the tax authority to register for tax reduction policies. This is completely due to scammers trying to steal personal information.
Mr. Dinh Viet Dung added: “The most important thing is that each citizen needs to raise their vigilance, when receiving phone calls impersonating tax officials, they need to stay calm in the face of threatening pressure, do not provide personal information over the phone, do not follow instructions to install fake phone applications; Immediately notify the Tax Department and local police for support.
Regarding this issue, a representative of the Nghe An Tax Department said: During the digital transformation period, the Tax sector has deployed many electronic tax services to serve taxpayers. Accordingly, people can carry out tax procedures at home or at their business headquarters without having to go to the tax office. However, bad guys have taken advantage of the development of new technologies to impersonate tax officers, fake websites and applications of the General Department of Taxation to commit fraud.
In order to help taxpayers avoid the risk of being scammed and having their information and assets stolen, Nghe An Provincial Tax Department provides information on some common scammers' behaviors and tricks today.
Such subjects impersonate tax authorities and claim to be tax officials to request taxpayers to provide information, send citizen identification photos or instruct them to send links to install fake applications to steal money from taxpayers' bank accounts.
Creating websites and social media accounts with interfaces similar to those of tax authorities, from images to content, scammers make users mistakenly believe that it is the official information of the provider, thereby committing theft or fraud.
Forging SMS messages with the brand name of the General Department of Taxation, specifically using SMS messages with the brand name “TongcucThue” to spread fake messages, and at the same time providing fake links and instructions to take control of phones/computers and appropriate money in bank accounts.
To protect the rights and interests of taxpayers and raise awareness against fraudulent schemes, Nghe An Provincial Tax Department recommends the following preventive measures: Do not provide personal information or bank account information to anyone via phone or social networks.
Do not allow any individual to directly access your computer or phone to assist in installing or using tax agency software. Do not click on links attached to text messages, Zalo, Facebook, etc. claiming to be tax agency representatives providing guidance on tax procedures.
Currently, tax authorities nationwide have supported taxpayers to use the eTax Mobile application. The application has full personal information of taxpayers on tax obligations, providing electronic tax services to users. In particular, it helps people to be more proactive and easier to pay taxes with utilities in looking up, paying taxes and controlling tax obligations.
Access the official website of the tax authority via the address with the national domain name "gdt.gov.vn" to verify the information. The Nghe An Provincial Tax Department provides information on hotline phone numbers, e-mail, other forms of contact and support locations, and instructions to promptly resolve taxpayers' complaints or requests for support. Hotline: 02383.969.697 (Propaganda Department - Taxpayer Support). Mailbox address:http://[email protected], Fanpage, Zalo, Youtube: Nghe An Provincial Tax Department, Head office address: No. 366 Le Nin Avenue, Hung Phuc Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An Province.