IRB advises public not to fall victim to email scam asking for bank account number

PETALING JAYA: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) cautioned the public not to fall victim to an email scam that attempts to get people to reveal their bank account details.
In a statement today, IRB said a syndicate uses the name of its CEO, board members as well as the logo of the board and banks to appear "legitimate" to convince people that they have overpaid their taxes and their bank details are needed to process the refunds.
"Please note that IRB has never sent emails to request for tax payers bank details. This is because those details will be obtained from the declaration form the tax payer completes in the income tax return form that is submitted yearly," IRB said.
The public was advised to verify the authenticity of emails claiming to be from the IRB by checking the email domain used by the sender.
"Every official email from IRB will be sent from the '@hasil.gov.my' email domain. The public must not follow the instructions from emails that are not sent from IRB's official email domain," it added.
IRB listed some of the fake email domains appearing as the following: @vanderbilt.edu and @vumc.org.
Those who are wary about suspicious emails claiming to be from the IRB can contact the Hasil Careline at 1-800-88-5436 or the nearest IRB branch number listed on www.hasil.gov.my to verify the emails.
The IRB also encourages those who have fallen prey to the scams to lodge a report with the authorities for further action.