Have you had a suspicious phone call or someone claiming to be from Inland Revenue Department (IRD) at your door lately?
There has been an increase in scams operating both by phone and door-to-door knocking in the recent months and IRD would like to warn customers to be cautioned against tax agents who claim to be working on its behalf to get them refund.
Tax refund season is a very busy time of year and we want to make sure that our customer information is safe and avoid being scammed.
Simple facts
Remember these simple things:
IRD will never telephone, email or knock on your door regarding your tax refund.
We will never ask for your credit card details or monetary payment in order to receive your refund
We will never direct you to any website other than www.ird.govt.nz
We ask all our customers to keep their IRD numbers, tax information, online passwords and other data safe at all times.
If you have received a phone call and are suspicious, please hang up immediately.
If you have replied and given money or provided details, please contact your bank or credit card provider immediately.
Useful tips
Use our online services and secure mail to communicate with us. It is fast, easy and very safe.
Always use strong passwords that have at least eight characters and a mixture of numbers, letters and symbols.
Never share your passwords with anyone – even someone you trust might accidentally give away your password.
If you are suspicious about a phone call, please hang up!
If someone knocks at your door, always ask for appropriate ID, and if you are suspicious, close the door.
Please report these scams to us by sending an email to.phising@ird.govt.nz
It is very easy for customers to manage their tax returns themselves. Simply log into ‘myIR’ and request a personal tax summary. Once you have been sent this summary, you will be able to confirm the amount online and the refund will be automatically credited into your bank account.
For more information about tax refunds please visit www.ird.govt.nz/tax2014
Free Workshops
If you are in business, you may like to attend one of our free tax seminars or workshops held in various parts of the country. Please visit our website for details (www.ird.govt.nz).
Abdul Rafik is Inland Revenue’s Community Compliance Officer based in Auckland. He will answer your queries, which may be emailed to venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz
