The Finnish Tax Administration has warned customers to be wary of scam messages that "seem credible but have a fraudulent purpose".
In a press release, the office said that an increasing number of scam messages have been sent in the Tax Administration's name, via emails and text messages. Most promise some form of tax refund.
"A scam message may urge you to pay overdue taxes, for example, or inform you of a non-existent tax refund. In addition, the Tax Administration’s customers have been lured to fake sites through links provided by search engines," the statement said.
The messages may appear to have come from sources including a telephone operator, an email service, a postal delivery service, a bank or a public authority, the tax office warned.
Text messages may even appear in the same message chain as genuine text messages, which can confuse customers into believing that the scam messages are genuine.
"A standard feature is urgency: the message urges you to act quickly," the statement said, advising that anyone who receives such a message should delete it immediately and not open any links contained within it.
If the scammers manage to convince the victim to click on the link, they will then begin to fish — or "phish" — for personal information including bank or credit card details.
On its website, the tax office provides advice on how customers can differentiate scam messages from the genuine article, including if online identification requirements are needed and checking if website addresses are spelled correctly.
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