The Judicial Police is alerting taxpayers to a new scam circulating through fraudulent messages, in which criminals impersonate the Tax and Customs Authority and promise fake IRS refunds. The communications, sent by SMS or email, announce an alleged "approved 2025 refund" and present high values, which can vary between 3,936 and 7,989 euros, with the aim of leading victims to provide personal and authentication data. According to PJ, the authors of the fraudulent messages use the image and name of the official entity to give credibility to the scheme and deceive taxpayers, taking advantage of the proximity of the tax return filing season to increase the likelihood of success. The police recommends that citizens ignore this type of communications, do not click on suspicious links and consult directly the Finance portal or contact official services to confirm any information regarding IRS refunds.
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PJ alerts for IRS scam with fake refunds of thousands of euros
DianaFM14 September 2026 at 12:16
Why this matters
Portuguese taxpayers are at risk of having their personal and banking data stolen through this sophisticated scam that imitates official communications from the Finance Ministry. The PJ warns that the high promised values (up to almost 8 thousand euros) are used as bait to deceive victims, making this fraud particularly dangerous during IRS declaration season.
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