Taipei: Authorities received more than 1,500 reports of fake winning invoice lottery emails in the latest two Uniform Invoice Lottery redemption periods, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Sunday. The CIB highlighted the growing issue of scammers exploiting the increasing number of people using digital carriers to store cloud-based receipts, capitalizing on their desire to win the lottery.
According to Focus Taiwan, the "Ministry of Finance Electronic Invoice Integration Service Platform" sends legitimate emails to verified addresses registered by users, informing them about prize information and automatic remittance options. However, scammers have been impersonating the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and major online retailers, sending fraudulent winning notification emails. These emails direct recipients to a fake "electronic invoice service platform," where they are tricked into providing credit card information to receive supposed automatic prize deposits.
In a notable incident in central Taiwan, an information engineer fell victim to such a scam after receiving a fake notification email following the May invoice lottery. The email falsely claimed he had won NT$1,000 and led him to a fraudulent platform where he was asked for his mobile number and credit card information. This resulted in unauthorized overseas transactions totaling more than NT$780,000 (US$24,461) after the victim repeatedly entered OTP codes into the fake site.
The CIB reported over 1,500 scam incidents during the March and May draw periods this year, with losses exceeding NT$60 million. Victims suffered financial losses ranging from a few thousand to several hundred thousand Taiwan dollars. The "Ministry of Finance Electronic Invoice Integration Service Platform" was the most frequently impersonated entity, accounting for about half of all cases. Other impersonated bodies included well-known retailers and e-commerce platforms.
The CIB issued key reminders to the public: official emails only notify users of winnings and automatically credit prizes; any process requiring website clicks for prize claims is fraudulent. Government agency emails and websites end in ".gov.tw," and legitimate winnings are transferred to bank accounts without needing credit card details. OTP verification messages specify transaction location, currency, and amount, urging people to read SMS content carefully and avoid entering OTP codes on fake websites.