How to spot fake emails and texts

Check the purpose of the email

Read carefully what the purpose of the email is. We will only write to you to give you information and options.

We would never ask for:

• Your personal data
• Your bank account or payment card details
• An amount

If in doubt, never click on a link in an email. Delete suspicious looking emails.

Take good care of your card details

Don't state your credit card details in an email.

If you entered your card details by mistake, we recommend that you contact your bank. You should also check that money is not withdrawn from your account without your approval.

The Danish Tax Agency automatically refunds any overpaid tax to your NemKonto and you do not have to state your payment card details to get the refund.

Check the sender of emails

Most email programs will show you the sender email address when you click on the name of the sender. Here you will see the full email address of the sender of the email.
However, you can never be completely sure as the sender email address can easily be faked and therefore look like an official address from the Danish Customs and Tax Administration.

You should never click on links if you are unsure whether an email is from Skatteforvaltningen/the Customs and Tax Administration. Instead, you should open a browser, go to skat.dk and continue from there. You can write us a message and see your tax information on our website.

We have listed our various websites below.

Check that links are secure

To ensure that a link is secure, mouse over the link to see which website it links to. Only click the link if it links to one of the following website or email addresses:

You should never click on links if you are unsure whether an email is from us. Instead, you should open up a browser, go to skat.dk and continue from there. At skat.dk you can contact the Danish Customs and Tax Administration and see your tax details.

Mouse over the link in the email to see if it says skat.dk.

Check the purpose of the text

Check the purpose of the text you have received. We only write to you to inform you of something or to give you different options.

We never state the actual amount of your tax refund. Likewise, we will never ask for your bank account or credit card details or ask you to state an amount yourself.

If you're unsure of a link in a text, don't click on it. Delete any suspicious texts you may get.

Only click the link if it has one of the following website or email addresses:

You should never click on links if you are unsure whether an email is from us. Instead, you should open up a browser, go to skat.dk and continue from there. At skat.dk you can contact the Danish Customs and Tax Administration and see your tax details.

Keep your credit card details close

Don't state your payment card details in a text.

If you have entered your credit card details by mistake, we recommend that you contact your bank. You should also check that no money is withdrawn from your bank account without your approval.

We automatically refund any overpaid tax to your NemKonto and you don't have to state your credit card details to get the refund.

Several individuals and businesses have received different kinds of fake tax messages pretending to be sent by one of he 7 agencies of the Customs and Tax Administration or 'Skat.dk'. Please see below for examples of some of the fake text messages that we have become aware of.

The fake text messages come in various versions and there are more examples than those listed below. So you may have received at fake text message that isn't listed in the examples below.

Example of fake text message of April 2023

Do not click the link - it will take you to a fake website where you will be asked to enter details.

You can spot these mistakes in the text message:

• We never write to you about specific refunds
• SKAT will never be the sender
• The link is not an official domain of the Customs and Tax Administration or the Tax Agency
• The Customs and Tax Administration doesn't ask for information in this way

Examples of fake text message of February 2023

Do not click the link - it will take you to a fake website where you will be asked to enter details. 

You can spot these mistakes in the text message:

• SKAT is not the sender
• The link is not an official domain of the Customs and Tax Administration, the Tax Agency or the Motor Vehicle Agency - even though it looks very much like it.
• The Customs and Tax Administration never aks for information in this way.

Several individuals and businesses have received different kinds of fake emails pretending to be sent by one of he 7 agencies of the Customs and Tax Administration or 'Skat.dk'. Please see below for examples of some of the fake emails that we have become aware of.

The fake emails come in various versions and there are more examples than those listed below. So you may have received at fake temails

Example of fake email from October 2023:

Example of fake email from September 2023:

Example of fake email from March 2023

How to spot spot fake emails

• We never state specific refunds
• We refund overpaid tax to your NemKonto
• We use your real name. The fake emails often only says 'Dear...'
• The link does not take you to skat.dk or other authorities under the Customs and Tax Administraiton. Check the link behind the link in the email by mousing over the link. (Do not click the link).

Example of fake email from February 2023

How to spot a fake email:

• The email addreses of the sender is not from the Tax Agency or other agencies under the Customs and Tax Administration.
• We never state specific refunds
• We don't ask for bank details. We refund overpaid tax to your NemKonto
• We use your real name. The fake emails often only says 'Dear...'
• The link does not take you to skat.dk or other authorities under the Customs and Tax Administraiton. Check the link behind the link in the email by mousing over the link. (Do not click the link).

You can spot these mistakes in the email

• We never state specific refunds
• We don't ask for bank details. We refund overpaid tax to your NemKonto
• The link does not take you to skat.dk or other authorities under the Customs and Tax Administraiton. Check the link behind the link in the email by mousing over the link. (Do not click the link).

We encourage you to send us a screenshot of any fake emails or text messages you receive. That way, you will help us break the cycle. 

You can send screenshots to us in E-tax (TastSelv).

June 2024:

Fake phone calls: The caller pretends to be from the Tax Agency

We've been informed that people or robots call taxpayers pretending to be from the Tax Agency. The person/robot calling usually speaks English and says that taxpayer is suspected of tax evasion or tax fraud and then the taxpayer is asked for information.

Such calls are not made by the Tax Agency and we recommend that you hang up without giving away any inforamtion.

Before June 2024: 

A number of taxpayers have received phone calls from people pretending to work for the Danish Customs and Tax Administration.

These people tell the taxpayer that he/she is entitled to a refund of overpaid tax. All the taxpayer has to do is to give the scam caller his/her bank account and MitID details in order to receive the refund. These calls are not made by an employee with the Tax Agency, but by criminals.

The criminals often make sure that the number they are calling from is very similar to that of the Danish Customs and Tax Administration. In this way, it looks like the taxpayer is receiveing a call from the Customs and Tax Administration, even though it is a call from a criminal.

The purpose is to trick the taxpayers into handing over information which is necessary to steal money from the taxpayer's bank accounts.

We always refund any overpaid tax to the taxpayers’ Nemkonto. If you receive a phone call from someone asking for information in order to refund overpaid tax to you, you can be sure it is a fake call. We do call taxpayers from time to time, but we never ask for account details or MitID information.

Please make sure that you never give anyone your bank account or MitID details.

There are several examples that individuals and businesses were exposed to fraud where the sender calls himself "SKTST/SKattekontoen" or "SKAT Skattekonto" and sends you a MobilePay request.

We do NOT send payment requests by MobilePay. If you receive such a request, you should not accept it but report it to the police.