Fraudulent emails, SMS (text messages) and phone calls

Revenue is aware of fraudulent emails, SMS (text messages) and phone calls seeking personal information from taxpayers. These communications can appear to come from Revenue but are actually sent by scammers. 

Fraudulent messages claiming to be from Revenue will often tell you that:

• you are due a tax refund
• or
• you must pay a tax bill immediately, sometimes to avoid a criminal case.

Revenue will never contact you by email, SMS or phone call to inform you of a tax refund or bill.

If you have provided Revenue account details in response to an email, SMS or phone call, reset your password immediately. If you have provided bank or card details, contact your bank or credit card company.

Recommendations for emails or SMS

Revenue does not correspond with its customers through traditional email or SMS. Instead, we use a secure online service, MyEnquiries, to send, receive and track correspondence. MyEnquiries is available to customers through Revenue Online Services and myAccount.

If you receive a message claiming to be from Revenue asking you to provide personal information, this is a scam.

Scam emails or SMS claiming to be from Revenue can feature:

• the sender using something other than a Revenue email address
• poor grammar or spelling
• an exact amount of money owed
• urgency or a deadline to respond
• or
• links to pages outside of revenue.ie.

Most email services allow you to check the sender's email address by clicking on their name. If you notice that it does not come from a @revenue.ie address, you will know that it is a scam. Scammers may try to use an address that looks like one Revenue would use, so it is important to check.

If you are suspicious about an email or SMS you have received, do not click on any links in it. These links may attempt to trick you into giving personal information to scammers. Instead, manually type www.revenue.ie into your browser for more information or to access ROS or myAccount.

Examples of fraudulent emails

Examples of fraudulent SMS

Recommendations for phone calls

Revenue will never contact you by phone and ask you to provide personal information. If you receive an unprompted phone call asking you for account, bank or card details, this is a scam.

These callers may ask for your Revenue account, bank or card details. You should never give these details in response to an unexpected phone call.

If you are unsure that a caller claiming to be from Revenue is legitimate, you should hang up. You can then contact Revenue using MyEnquiries or the Contact us page to follow up. Never use a phone number that you have been given in a suspicious email or call.