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Philly Department of Revenue warns of text scam regarding refunds: What to know
The Philadelphia Department of Revenue says they will never contact you regarding a refund via text, so if you received a message, here's what to do.
PHILADELPHIA - Officials say a government agency will never contact you with a text.
They say scammers are sophisticated and make the link and information they request seem legit.
What we know:
The scammers text a malicious link pretending to be the Philadelphia Department of Revenue. If you click it, they request your banking information stating that it is related to a refund.
"People in the Philadelphia area have been targeted," said Christian Crespo about a fraudulent text scam to get your information and your money by claiming that you are owed money.
"The department learned about this at the same time people in Philadelphia started receiving these text messages," said Crespo who is the Director Communications for the Philadelphia Department of Revenue.
"It's very serious. They did it in a very sophisticated way. The websites or links they were routing to websites that look like our own Philadelphia, phila.gov domain," he said.
The link prompts you to enter your banking information by stating it is related to a refund.
"It's that time of year. The last tax filing is September 15th, and they are trying to show people that they got some refunds, and they are trying to steal your money. They want the refunds," said Anthony Mongeluzo who is the president of PCS. He breaks down the do's and don'ts to help protect your personal information and money. His first piece of advice is to ignore the text.
"Clicking the link itself on your phone is going to do no harm but if you gave data, you need to contact your financial institutions immediately because bad people have it," said Mongeluzo. "When you get tricked once, they come at you again and again," he said. Mongeluzo is concerned especially for older people.
"Maybe it's that senior citizen that just got their first mobile phone and they think it's a great day or it's their lucky day. It is just casting out a big net to catch any fish that they can," he said.
Crespo says this particular phishing scam is loaded with red flags.
"Always look for grammar errors, websites that do not match our domain Phila.gov for example, and email from an unrecognized sender. There is always something. In this particular message they mention a state agency. We are local for example," he said.
What you can do:
Residents who believe they may have shared personal or financial information should report it to the FBI 24/7 at (215) 418-4000 or tips.fbi.gov. They can also contact the federal Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
To learn more about how to identify phishing texts and scams, visit the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals’ website.
The Source: The Philadelphia Department of Revenue