PETALING
JAYA: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is warning the public about a syndicate
involving fraudsters that are actively impersonating as its officers again.
IRB said
in a statement that the syndicate uses several modus operandi including calling
victims directly and asking them to pay for "outstanding tax
arrears".
"The
victims will receive a phone call from the syndicate and they are required to
make the necessary payments by transferring money to a bank account that is not
owned by IRB," the IRB said in a statement on Sunday (June 7).
IRB also
revealed that sometimes victims will be informed that they were allegedly
involved in tax evasion and money laundering activities, and threatened to
freeze the bank account under the Anti-Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing
and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act (Amla).
"The
victim will then be connected to a ‘police office’ responsible for the case. To
avoid the money in the account from being frozen, the victims will be required
to transfer all of the amount to a third party account," said the IRB.
"Other
victims will be contacted by the syndicate who are impersonating as police
officers, informing them about supposed outstanding tax arrears. They will
order them to download a fake mobile app supposedly from Bank Negara Malaysia
or share private and confidential banking details in a fake website supposedly
owned by Bank Negara for investigation purposes," added IRB.
There are
also cases where victims will receive phone calls from fake " IRB
officers" using phone numbers that are similar to IRB’s number through
spoofing.
"They
will be informed about supposed outstanding tax arrears of their companies
registered under their names, it said.
"Victims
are required to pay the outstanding amount by making a payment to a third party
bank account other than the official IRB account," it further noted.
"Therefore,
the public is again reminded to be careful with each phone call, message, email
or letter received from IRB that are suspicious or dubious by taking several
steps.
"They
can check directly at the Hasil Care Line, customer care officer, IRB inquiries
application or go to the nearest office," said IRB.
The
public has also been reminded not to reveal any private banking or information,
click on any links received via dubious emails, and make payments directly to
IRB.
"Do
not click on any applications from unknown users and do not return any phone
calls from unknown numbers. Please check the IRB’s number at its official
portal.
"We
would like to stress that each of our officers is bound by the private tax
privacy information regulations under the Income Tax Act 1967, where each
private information of taxpayers will not be given to any third parties,"
added IRB.
Clipped from : https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/06/07/irb-warns-of-fraudsters-impersonating-its-officers-in-tax-arrears-scam
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