Iras warns against WhatsApp calls from scammers posing as tax authorities

SINGAPORE – The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) on Monday (13 June) warned against calls on WhatsApp from scammers pretending to be from the tax authority.

This is the third scam alert Iras has issued in the last seven days.

The calls via WhatsApp are made from foreign numbers with a “+” sign and the official Iras logo as a profile picture.

The tax authority said it does not make calls through messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram or Viber.

“Members of the public are advised to ignore such calls and not provide personal or bank account information, make payments to a third party’s bank account, or follow the caller’s instructions,” she added.

The public should also ban those accounts to signal messaging apps like WhatsApp to delete those fraudulent accounts, Iras said.

It added that the Check First website can be used to verify that a call is legitimate.

Members of the public can enter phone numbers into the site to see if the number is associated with Iras.

If it doesn’t, it’s probably a scam call.

When in doubt, the public can still reach Iras on the 1800-356 8300 hotline or on its website.

Iras warned on Wednesday about fraudulent emails purportedly from the IRS at the start of the corporate tax filing season, which ends November 30 this year.

The phishing emails spoof the @iras.gov.sg domain and instruct recipients to check the status of their corporate income tax returns or file their tax returns by clicking on an attached file.

The tax agency said it does not solicit personal data or confidential information from taxpayers via email or loose web links.

Iras had also previously warned of a fraudulent email urging recipients to click a fraudulent link to make the payment due to discrepancies in their tax returns.