The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) issued a warning on 21 January about a scam e-mail circulating, claiming to be from IRAS and telling the recipients to purchase an “approval pass” so that they could receive money from Bill Gates, the 4th richest man in the world.
The scam email would even be allegedly signed off by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Ng Wai Choong.
Recipients of the email would be told that their bank accounts have been blocked from receiving $20 million from Bill Gates.
They would then be told to get a letter of confirmation from “the Bill Gate foundation” (yes, the scammers misspelled his name); or alternatively, they could buy an “international approval pass” to receive the money.
Ignore and don’t respond
IRAS (the real, authentic IRAS) has since advised the public to ignore the scam email and not respond to it.
The public is also being advised to not make any payment or follow any instructions sent by the scammers.
Those who have already done so are advised to make a police report.
Not the first emergence
IRAS also previously warned about another form of scam email last November, where documents containing computer viruses were attached.
The emails were impersonating the “Singapore Government Tax Authority” and recipients of the email were told that they have yet to pay their taxes.
Scam emails also emerged last August where recipients were told that they faced a penalty for unpaid taxes and were asked to verify their credit card details to facilitate payment for the penalties.