Beware of fake Japan National Tax Agency scam emails! "Urgent" scam lures malicious links
The National Tax Service emphasizes that it will never request tax refunds or tax payments via email, with a total of 14,000 inquiries from September to October.
Quick Look
- The Japan National Tax Agency warns of a sharp increase in fake emails impersonating the National Tax Agency and the e-Tax system.
- These emails use tax refunds or tax payments as bait, leading people to click on fake websites to steal personal information.
- Cases of monetary losses have occurred.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
There is a sharp increase in forged emails impersonating the Japanese National Tax Agency and the e-Tax system. Such emails have the content of claiming tax refunds or requesting tax payments, inducing people to click on forged websites to steal personal information and have caused monetary losses. The service window and telephone consultation center of the National Taxation Department received a total of 14,000 related inquiries from late September to late October, which is much higher than the previous normal level of more than ten cases per day.
The Japan National Tax Agency called the public's attention and emphasized: "We will never request tax refund procedures or tax payment via email." (Picture taken from the e-Tax website)
There is a sharp increase in forged emails impersonating the Japanese National Tax Agency and the National Tax Electronic Filing and Taxation System (e-Tax). These emails mainly contain the content of claiming tax refunds or requesting tax payments, and then lure people to click on fake websites that steal personal information. Cases of monetary losses have been confirmed, and the National Tax Service called on the public to pay attention to this and emphasized: "We will never request tax refund procedures or payment of taxes via email."
The Sankei Shimbun reported that regarding this type of email, the National Tax Agency’s service window and telephone consultation center received a total of 14,000 inquiries from late September to late October this year. If local tax bureaus are included, the number is expected to be quite large. Before that, there were only about a dozen items per day.
The sender of the forged mail will be listed as "National Tax Agency" or "e-Tax", and the subject line will have the words "Urgent" (urgent) written on it. The content of the emails often incites anxiety by saying "tax returns may have been omitted" or "tax arrears have occurred", thereby prompting people to visit fake websites or download illegal applications. Some cases will even list details such as the estimated tax refund amount.
Regular emails sent by the National Tax Service will never include instructions or attachment files for downloading apps, and they will never prompt people to visit other external websites.
Open Questions
- Have the source and organization behind the fake emails been locked?
- What is the specific amount of loss and number of victims?
- What specific technical measures will the National Tax Service take to block such fake emails?
