A scam encouraging people to provide their bank details is being described as highly sophisticated by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
It is warning people to delete any emails from Inland Revenue which ask them to provide their bank and personal details. The ministry said it has been aware of phishing scams with fake IRD emails for some time, but the latest one appeared to be more genuine.
It has had 26 reports of people receiving the email and two of them have fallen for the scam and provided their personal details. The email has the IRD logo on it and a heading of 'Get your online tax refund'. The IRD said it never demanded a payment to receive a tax refund.
Meanwhile, the Banking Ombudsman is warning people not to do online banking or use email over unsecured public wi-fi networks. An investigation by the ombudsman's office found a six-figure sum was stolen when an email account was hacked and personal details were taken over an unsecured network.
An internet security expert has backed the warnings. Andy Prow said emailing personal information over public wi-fi was never a safe practice. He said even when banking over secure networks, people should double-check the website.
