Fraud: FBR warns against identity thieves

FBR advises taxpayers and public not to send bank account details and passwords to emails received from any email IDs.

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has advised taxpayers and the general public not to send their bank account details and passwords to emails received from any email address that claims to represent the FBR.

A statement issued by FBR here on Wednesday said that it has been reported that some fraudulent people are using a fake webpage pretending to be the FBR’s official website.

Taxpayers receive an email from the fake addresses asking them to collect their tax refund by clicking a link provided.

If the users provide the information, they are subject to identity theft and their accounts then can be hacked.

This trick, called Phishing, is used by identity thieves around the world who misuse the online financial systems and deprive unsuspecting people of their money.

Globally, phishing deprives people of around a billion dollars annually. The FBR’s website does not provide any such links and the FBR would never ask for a taxpayer’s bank details and passwords on its homepage, it added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2013.

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