Scam Alert: fraudulent SMS claims receiver has been issued a tax refund

A new scam preying on the public is using a popular Government scheme to obtain people’s card details, claiming to need them to send a tax refund.

In a post on Facebook, Cyber Security Malta, the national cyber awareness campaign, warned the public about a scam telling people that their tax refund has been processed, directing them to a link asking for their debit card details.

The website the SMS links to is built to look like a Government portal, but it is in fact a fake meant to commit fraud.

The fraudulent website even has the Government of Malta ‘gov.mt’ logo and that of the Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA), the agency that develops Government websites.

The scam joins a host of others reported over the last months, as criminals take advantage of Malta’s heavy internet use to attack vulnerable people.