In a statement, LHDN said it had detected several attempts made by the syndicate to cheat the public by sending fake emails informing them that they had overpaid taxes which LHDN had to return.

In the fake e-mail, the scam operators would direct the recipient of the e-mail to divulge their bank account details to enable a repayment transaction to be made by LHDN.

“Please note that LHDN have never sent emails to taxpayers to ask them to disclose their bank account numbers. This is because the bank account information will be obtained through the declaration by the taxpayer when they complete the Income Tax Return Form each year.

“In addition, the successful refund of over-payment of income tax based on the correct information will also be credited directly by the LHDN to the taxpayer’s bank account via Electronic Fund Transfer, Tax Refund Voucher, Crossed Cheque or Telegraphic Check Transfer (for those with overseas accounts),” it said.

According to LHDN, the syndicate would also send a fake notice of tax deficiency to the public.

It said LHDN would indeed send reminder letters to taxpayers who were owing income taxes for them to settle the outstanding taxes but the recipients must ensure the letters were genuinely from LHDN.

He said the genuineness of the letters could be verified by calling Hasil Careline at 1-800-88-5436 or Hasil Recovery Call Centre at 1-800-88-4726 or the telephone number of the LHDN branch stated in the letter.

“If the letter received gives instructions to make income tax payment to the nominee other than the Director-General of Inland Revenue or the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, the receiver should disregard the instructions in the letter and lodge a complaint with LHDN,” he said.