Revenue is warning us all not to fall for a scam promising tax refunds

If you receive text messages like the one below claiming to be from Revenue, you should simply delete it.

The Revenue Commissioners have warned Irish consumers to be aware of an email and text message scam seeking personal information from Irish taxpayers purporting to be in connection with a tax refund. Over on our brother site JOE, one reader - Darren Stewart - contacted them on Friday with screenshots of a text message sent to his phone in relation to a tax refund of just under €1,000 he was reportedly entitled to. The link in the text message redirected Darren to a legitimate looking online form requiring him to enter in personal information, including his debit/credit card details. Darren is obviously not the only one to have received this type of message in recent days as earlier this week, as they did following a similar scam last year, the Revenue Commissioners issued a notice to consumers that they were aware of the scam and offered advice to those who might be affected. “This week the Revenue Commissioners have become aware of fraudulent emails and SMS (text messages) purporting to come from Revenue seeking personal information from taxpayers in connection with a tax refund or seeking credit/debit card details,” the notice read. “These emails and text messages did not issue from Revenue. “The Revenue Commissioners never send emails or text messages requiring customers to send personal information via email, text or pop-up windows. “Anyone who receives an email or text message purporting to be from Revenue and suspects it to be fraudulent or a scam should simply delete it. Anyone who is actually awaiting a tax refund should contact their local Revenue Office to check its status. “Anyone who provided personal information in response to these fraudulent emails or text messages should contact their bank or credit card company immediately.”