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 You should also check that money is not withdrawn from your account without your approval.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 sender of email

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 us. Instead, you should open up a browser, go to www.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.

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 via our social media pages on Facebook or X, or via E-tax (TastSelv).

Most fake emails and text messages want you to click on a link to a fake website where you are instructed to provide personal information.
Such a website may very well look like skat.dk, but it's fake. If you check the browser field/ domain you will see that is says something else than skat.dk

If you're unsure of the links you get in your email or text message, don't click on them. What you do is open your browser, go to skat.dk and continue from there. At skat.dk you can contact the Customs and Tax Administration and see your tax data.

Examples of fake websites:

The text may not be correct gramatically (though some fake websites present perfect Danish).
There are often spelling mistakes and words are often split in 2.
The sender is incorrect. 

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.

Example of a fake MobilePay payment request "SKTST/Skattekontoen", September 2022: