Understanding Tax Scams

A tax scam is where scammers attempt to steal personal information or money by posing as Inland Revenue (IR), and sometimes the Police.

Tax scammers may contact you via email, text message or phone call and say you are due a tax refund and need to provide your banking details to be able to claim it.

Alternatively, they may claim that you owe Inland Revenue and need to pay it right away or you will be in trouble with the Police. Their primary goal is to trick you into providing your banking or identity details, which they can then use to steal money from your account.

Tax scams spike during important dates in the tax calendar:

March - April: the end and beginning of the tax year
May - July: when individual tax refunds are typically available

Tips for protecting against tax scams

Be cautious of any communications regarding tax bills or refunds, and take the following steps to safeguard yourself:

Avoid Clicking on Links: Do not click on any links in text messages or emails that ask you to pay or claim money or input your banking details. Instead, manually log into your myIR account through the official IRD website to verify any claims.
Email verification: if you get an email claiming to be from IRD, check it comes from an email address ending with @ird.govt.nz. If you are due a refund, IRD will never include the amount of your refund in an email.
Text message caution: Check the number of any text claiming to be from IRD. IRD uses four-digit codes for texting, not regular phone numbers.
Suspicious phone calls: If you receive a call stating that there’s an investigation into overdue taxes, do not provide your banking details or log into your online banking. IRD will not use threatening or abusive language or threaten arrest over the phone. In case of doubt, ask for the caller's name and number, then hang up and call IRD back at 0800 775 247.
No gift card payment: IRD will never ask you to make payments via pre-paid credit cards or gift cards such as iTunes.
Check with IRD: Visit the IRD website (https://www.ird.govt.nz/managing-my-tax/scams/latest-scams)for information on common and current tax scams, including sample scam emails and text messages.

What to do if you've been subject to a tax scam

If you believe you’ve fallen victim to a tax scam:

Contact Your Bank: Immediately notify your bank if you have provided your bank account or credit/debit card details.
Identity Theft Support: Contact IDCare(https://www.idcare.org/), a free specialist service supporting anyone in New Zealand who is at risk of identity theft.
Drivers’ License: If you have shared your driver’s license details, arrange for a replacement through NZTA(https://www.nzta.govt.nz/driver-licences/renewing-replacing-and-updating/replacing-your-licence/)’s website or at a licensing agent.
Report Scams: Report any scam emails, phone calls, or text messages to IRD at [email protected](mailto:[email protected]). With emails you can just forward them to that address.

Seek help from Netsafe.

Whilst we can't investigate or track down scammers, we can provide advice on steps you can take if you've been targeted by a scammer or lost money in a scam.

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