fake refund scam strikes again

While the 2023 tax return campaign is about to open its doors, fake refund scams have just made a comeback.

It has become a refrain with each opening of the tax declaration. From this Thursday, April 13, 2023, the French will be invited to enter their income for 2022 online. This done, they will be able to receive their 2023 tax notice corresponding to their declaration by the end of July.

Of course, every year, the crooks take advantage of this strong “administrative” activity to rip off taxpayers. Already in 2021, we mentioned in our columns these fake refund emails… Well, they are back as confirmed by our colleagues from 60 million consumers.

Tax scams are back

Indeed, the media has already spotted fake emails repeating feature by feature the interface and graphic charter of the Directorate General of Public Finances. To lure the victims, the scammers promise here fake refundsoverpayments to be credited to their tax return.

“We are pleased to inform you that following our processing of your tax return, we have calculated that you are entitled to a tax refund in the amount of €155.49”, reads one of the scams brought to light by 60 million consumers.

Also read: SMS scam – the government warns against these new hacker schemes

Of course, these emails are used in a vast phishing campaign. To seize your personal data, the scammers have slipped a link into these emails that will redirect you to an Internet page that looks exactly like the tax site.

Of course, this page is actually controlled by hackers. Here, the victim is asked to enter certain information such as surname/first name, date of birth or postal address. But more serious, you are also asked to provide your bank details… You will understand, the trap closes here.

How to avoid the trap of scammers

As 60 million consumers remind us, if you receive this email, several clues can help you sniff out the tricks. First of all, this can be the sender’s email address. In the case of the media, it was “[email protected]”. These unusual addresses are obvious signs of a phishing attempt. Also look for any spelling mistakes in the body of the email or the subject line.

As a reminder, another good reflex to have is to report any suspicious email of this type to state platforms such as Signal Spam or Pharos. If you receive this kind of message by SMS, forward it directly to the 33700the platform for combating SMS and voice spam.