THE PASSPORT number and other details of at least one person has been “phished” as a result of a fraudulent e-mail purporting to come from the Revenue Commissioners.
The e-mail is headed “You are eligible to receive a tax refund!” and links to a convincing reproduction of the www.revenue.ie website. It then prompts the user to input personal details including their passport number and expiry date.
Following a warning issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the passport office received a call from a person who had provided passport details after receiving the e-mail.
The person was advised to get a new passport. The individual’s previous passport number will be treated as stolen, and Interpol will be alerted should a person using this number attempt to cross international borders.
Revenue was made aware of the scam yesterday when a member of the public alerted it to the e-mail. It was then in contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs.
A spokeswoman for the department said this was the first instance it could recall of Irish passport details being sought in such a scam e-mail.
A Revenue spokeswoman said phishing scams had become common with banks and other organisations.
“Revenue never sends e-mails which require customers to send personal information via e-mail or pop-up windows,” she said.
Anyone who provided their passport information after receiving the phishing e-mail is advised to contact the Passport Service at 01-671 1633 or Low Call 1890-426888.