Learn to spot the signs of a scam so you can tell if phone calls, emails, texts or social media messages are really from us.
Common signs of a scam include:
- threatening language or pressure to act immediately
- demanding money or passwords
- dodgy links or refund amounts
- wrong email address or phone number
- strange language and bad spelling.
You also need to look out for fake websites or social media accounts and stolen myIR logins.
Here are some more details.
Threatening language or pressure
Scammers may threaten you, use intimidating language, or say you will be arrested immediately if you do not respond. They may pressure you to act or make a decision quickly.
Demanding money or passwords
Scammers may demand money and want to be paid in unusual ways like gift cards, Bitcoin or money transfer systems. They may ask for passwords to your online accounts.
We will only ask for payment using our official methods. We will never ask for your password.
Dodgy links or refund amounts
Scammers may provide links or refund amounts in emails and texts.
We do not do this. Instead, we will tell you to log in to myIR.
Wrong email address or phone number
Scam emails will not come from our address (ird.govt.nz), although they may come from a similar address. Check email addresses and links by hovering your mouse over them.
However, we do sometimes invite customers to take part in research or surveys. We may offer a gift card in return for participating. A genuine customer research email from us will not have any of the signs of a scam described on this page.
If we send text (SMS) messages to New Zealand mobiles, they will come from our numbers 5678 or 4478. A text from any other number is likely a scam.
Check our list of phone numbers or contact us to confirm if a phone call was really from us.
Strange language and bad spelling
Scam emails, texts and social media posts are often badly worded with lots of spelling mistakes. We try to use language that is as clear as possible.
We do not use terms like dear citizen, fiscal activity, excess payment, NZ Govt Tax Refund or IRD Customer/Revenue portal.
Fake websites
Fake versions of our websites may be almost identical to our real ones. However, they will not use our real web addresses.
Our real websites are:
- ird.govt.nz (our main website)
- myir.govt.nz (myIR Secure Online Services)
- taxtechnical.ird.govt.nz (Tax Technical website)
- taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz (Tax Policy website).
Always check the address is right before you click.
Fake social media accounts
Scammers may use fake versions of a social media account to contact you. They may pretend to work for Inland Revenue.
Fake social media accounts:
- show only a few followers – our official Facebook account has over 91,000 followers, and LinkedIn has over 48,000
- have low activity, with few posts
- were created recently – our Facebook account was created in 2013.
Besides Facebook and LinkedIn, we also have a YouTube channel. We no longer have a Twitter (X) account.
We will never ask for personal or financial information through social media posts or message you directly (privately) on a social media app.
Stolen myIR login
It does not happen often, but fraudsters sometimes use another person's myIR account to claim tax refunds or tax credits. Or, they might use someone else’s IRD number to create an account.
Some signs that someone else might be using your myIR account are:
- the bank account or address in myIR is not yours
- you have received a notice of assessment from us for a return you did not file
- a return you have not filed is showing as filed.
If you have a tax agent and think any of these may have happened to you, ask them if they have changed your details. If your tax agent has not made the changes, or you're still unsure, find out what to do if you've been scammed.
Act now if you've been scammed
See examples of scams
These examples of recent scams may help you learn what an Inland Revenue scam looks like.