Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department issued a warning about individuals impersonating tax officials to provide instructions and links to install fake applications for fraudulent purposes. According to the warning, some individuals are impersonating government officials and providing links and instructions for users to install fake applications mimicking those of government agencies. Their goal is to gain control of phones and smart devices, steal personal information, and bank account details for the purpose of misappropriating assets.
The announcement was made shortly after a social media account shared about being scammed by this tactic.
Scammers impersonating tax officials trick users into installing apps to steal their money.
Ms. AT, one of the victims of the scam, stated that on April 3rd, she submitted her application for a new tax identification number for her business. The tax authority scheduled her to pick up the results on April 6th. However, on April 5th, someone claiming to be an IT employee of the tax authority called and asked her to add them on Zalo to guide her on installing tax declaration software, claiming they had seen her tax registration information.
After adding the person on Zalo, feeling uneasy, Ms. AT checked their profile and found that all the information and images were related to taxation, including a photo of their wife working at the tax office, so she didn't suspect anything. About 10 minutes later, the person claiming to be an "IT employee" called via Zalo and instructed her to install the HCMTAX – Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department software. She downloaded the application and registered an account. However, because the application was too large, it caused her phone to freeze, so at 19 PM that day, she uninstalled it.
However, at that time, she was completely unaware that her information had been stolen and that a fraudster had accessed her phone. At 1:30 AM, while she was asleep, the perpetrator accessed her phone and transferred all the money from her account. It wasn't until noon on April 6th that she discovered the incident and reported it to the police and the bank.
After sharing the incident on social media, many people said they had also recently encountered similar situations where someone claiming to be an employee of the Tax Department called to guide them on installing software, just like AT shared. However, because it was a holiday, they were suspicious and did not install it, thus avoiding a scam.
Warning issued by the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department.
In a notice issued on April 8th, the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department stated that currently, some individuals are impersonating government officials and providing links and instructions for users to install fake applications mimicking those of government agencies. These applications aim to gain control of phones and smart devices, steal personal information and bank account details, and ultimately misappropriate assets.
The Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department notes: "The tax-related applications that the Tax Department is currently deploying on smart devices are only available through Google Play (for devices using the Android operating system) and the Apple Store (for devices using the iOS operating system)."
Please note the following when using applications deployed by the Tax Department on smart devices such as Etax Mobile, Invoice Lookup, HCMTax, etc.:
– Only access and download official applications through Google Play (for devices using Android operating system) and Apple Store (for devices using iOS operating system), and check the author (developer) information.
– When you need information or assistance, please contact the designated phone numbers listed on the websites of the Tax Sub-departments and Tax Departments directly for support.
– Absolutely do not download or install applications for smart devices through unofficial links (URLs) or other instructions.
Currently, the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department has posted instructions on how to use and install the applications on its YouTube channel, website, and electronic portal.
– One of the telltale signs of fraudulent apps is that during installation, they often request permissions such as: viewing the screen, inputting data, controlling the screen… so users need to carefully check the app and its features before granting these permissions.
As Ms. AT mentioned above, during installation, the message "The General Department of Taxation has full access to your device" appeared, but the official tax authority application never makes such a request.
Taxpayers need to be careful and vigilant in all situations to avoid being scammed by fraudsters.
