IRD tax email is trying it on
Tax-themed phishing emails are circulating, pretending to be from Inland Revenue and urging you to validate your information to process an assessment or refund.
You could receive an email with the subject line “Important: Your Tax Assessment”, appearing to come from Inland Revenue and warning that your 2026 income tax assessment has begun but your information is incorrect or incomplete. It pushes you to click a prominent “Validate Your Information” button, creating pressure to act quickly so your tax details or refund can be processed.
What gives it away is that the message cannot properly prove who sent it. The sending domain is not an Inland Revenue domain, and the usual checks that help confirm a sender’s identity were missing, which means your email system had little to verify. The domain itself is old, but age alone does not make it trustworthy, especially when it is being utilised to impersonate a government organisation.
This is designed to steal your details. If you click through and enter information, attackers can capture login credentials, personal data, or other sensitive business information, then use it for account takeover, fraud, or follow-on scams that look even more convincing.
The domain the message claims to be from. Fresh registrations and known-bad reputations are the strongest technical tells of a spoofed sender.
Practical steps you or your IT provider can take to reduce the risk from this kind of threat.
- Check: Treat any tax or refund email with suspicion, especially if it urges you to validate information through a button or link.
- Verify: Go directly to Inland Revenue through its official website or your saved bookmark, rather than using links in the email.
- Do not: Enter passwords, tax details, or business information into pages opened from unexpected emails.
- Report: Forward suspicious messages to your IT provider or security team so they can review and block similar emails.
- Contact Decision1: If you believe your business has been targeted, contact the Decision1 team immediately.