South Korea’s National Tax Service has issued a warning over phishing emails disguised as official notices about virtual-asset taxation. The alert, published on August 14, said spoofed messages with subject lines such as “Advance Explanation Notice on Virtual Asset Taxation” were circulating and attempting to prompt recipients to interact with them.
The agency said people should not click links or open attached files contained in those emails. According to the National Tax Service, the messages are crafted to resemble guidance on crypto-related taxes and may be used to obtain personal information.
Tax-themed phishing campaign flagged
The National Tax Service said the fraudulent emails are being distributed while posing as communications connected to virtual-asset taxation. By using wording that suggests an official tax explanation or notice, the messages appear designed to make recipients believe they are legitimate government correspondence.
Authorities said the risk is not limited to nuisance spam. Opening the email itself or following an embedded link could lead to personal information being exposed, the agency warned.
Agency advises against using message links
To verify whether a notice is genuine, the tax agency said users can check through Hometax, its online tax portal, whether an email or text message was actually sent by the National Tax Service.
Rather than relying on any link included in a message, the agency advised users to access Hometax directly and review notifications there. The warning applies to both email and text messages that claim to come from the tax authority.
Reporting options for affected users
The National Tax Service also outlined what people can do if they have already interacted with a suspicious message. Anyone who clicked a questionable link can submit a report through the Korean National Police Agency’s cybercrime reporting system.
Reports can also be filed through the Korea Internet & Security Agency’s channel for personal information infringement. The agency presented those routes as the appropriate response if a user suspects their information may have been put at risk.
Focus on personal information risks
In its notice, the National Tax Service said impersonation emails tied to virtual-asset tax guidance have already led to personal information leaks. That assessment formed the basis of its call for extra caution around any message claiming to address crypto tax matters.
The immediate next step from the agency is simple: recipients should treat unsolicited tax-related crypto messages as suspicious, avoid attached files and embedded links, and confirm any genuine notice only through Hometax.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io