The Federal Tax Service warned about fraudulent mailings on its behalf – Kommersant

The Federal Tax Service (FTS) has stated that it does not send tax demand letters containing a payment link. Such letters come from scammers, the department clarified.

According to the Federal Tax Service, this newsletter offers to pay off tax debt “by visiting the inspectorate in person, or by clicking on the link and sending a copy of the check to the supposedly notified inspector.” Fraudsters justify this by the fact that the debt for taxes and fees dates back to 2021, and therefore is not reflected in government services and in the taxpayer’s personal account.

Thus, letters can be sent by e-mail with an invitation to organize passive income and connection to the taxpayer’s personal account. This mailing also contains links to follow that lead to fraudulent sites, and the inspection details and an invitation to visit are attached to the letter.

“The Federal Tax Service of Russia does not send out such messages and has no relation to these letters. Taxpayers receive notifications of calculated taxes in their personal accounts or by mail. They do not contain any other information other than the number of the notification itself and an indication that the document is available for viewing on the service,” it says press release.

In 2022, the Central Bank reported about the increase in fraud activity. In November, the regulator identified more than 110 thousand attackers, which was the highest figure since 2019. In July VTB reportedthat scammers offer customers money for browsing online stores.

Laura Keffer