WARNING: Scammers pretending to be IRD
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Articles by John Rowe
There always seem to be people with a complete lack of integrity trying to scam the rest of us out of our hard-earned money or steal our private information (like passwords). Below is a copy of the latest scam I received.
The email appears to be from the IRD, and of course has a “Login” link they are trying to persuade you to click. If you receive something like this, don’t click anything! Simply delete the email.
If you look closely, you can see the email is not actually from an IRD email address. There is also some weird formatting (e.g. some of the letter ‘a’s are actually alpha symbols, there are line breaks in the middle of sentences) and there are some slightly unusual phrases in the body of the email. (e.g. “transfer your GST return to you”).
If you receive something like this but you are not sure if it is a scam, ask your accountant to confirm whether or not the email is legitimate. You can also contact IRD directly, but don’t use any of the contact details provided within the email.
Unfortunately, scammers appear to be here to stay, so you need to have your wits about you. It’s a shame, but it is best to default to being suspicious of communications like this until you can prove otherwise.
John Rowe
Director
Business Accounting Services
© Gilligan Rowe & Associates LP
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Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide only a summary of the issues associated with the topics covered. It does not purport to be comprehensive nor to provide specific advice. No person should act in reliance on any statement contained within this article without first obtaining specific professional advice. If you require any further information or advice on any matter covered within this article, please contact the author.
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