Police on Thursday advised the public to be wary of phishing emails, after an individual reported an attempt to steal their personal information by scammers impersonating the tax department.

According to the complaint, the person received an email purporting to be from the tax department. The email ‘informed’ the recipient that he/she had just been approved for a tax refund – even mentioning the supposed amount.

The email provided a link to a fake website resembling that of the tax department. The recipient was urged to click on it to complete the process. This involved providing personal data.

Having realised it was a scam, the person took no action, instead alerting the police.

Nicosia CID are investigating.

Based on this incident, and others, police again advised members of the public to be careful when receiving such emails.

It recalled that no tax or other state department will send emails asking for passwords or other banking information. In case someone receives such an email, they should disregard it and delete it immediately.

Members of the public should never disclose personal or banking information via email. They should never fill out any information on websites, other than official government websites.

If in doubt, people should contact the department in question to verify whether it sent an email. They should do so before clicking on any link provided.

Using logins with two-step verification is also strongly advised.

In the event a person provides any banking data to fraudsters, they should immediately contact their bank and then alert the police.

A phishing email is a fraudulent message designed to steal personal or financial information by impersonating a trusted source, such as a bank or employer.