09/06/2026
DON'T GET CAUGHT!
Netsafe and Inland Revenue are warning New Zealanders about a massive surge in tax-related phishing scams during the current 2026 tax season. Fraudsters are aggressively targeting people with fake emails, texts, and social media ads offering bogus "tax refunds" or claiming you have an urgent, overdue tax bill.
EMAIL SCAMS
Scam emails often include these kinds of details:
- They are not from an Inland Revenue email address
- They do not include your name – instead, they might say ‘kia ora’ or ‘dear citizen’
- They include links, which do not go to the Inland Revenue website or myIR. Inland Revenue does not include links in their emails.
- The language, logo or colours may be wrong
TEXT (SMS) SCAMS
Inland Revenue will not send you a message from any number except 5678 or 4478 (in New Zealand), nor will they send links in text messages.