Impersonating Tax Authorities to Launch Cross-Border Tax Refund Scams and Extort Advance Payments from Enterprises

Who Gets Targeted

The primary victims are small and medium-sized foreign trade enterprises and some larger cross-border export companies. These firms often face cash flow pressures and urgently need tax refunds to maintain operations. Financial managers and tax supervisors, often lacking professional tax audit experience, are easily induced by strangers claiming to be from tax bureaus or professional consultants to provide bank accounts or pay upfront fees based on official-looking letters and AI-generated approval documents.

骗局怎么运作

• Step 1: Fraudsters proactively contact the company's financial manager via WeChat groups, email, or LinkedIn, claiming that the State Taxation Administration has launched a 'Cross-Border Tax Refund Fast Track.' They provide a link to an exclusive online platform and emphasize that this channel can complete refunds within days to alleviate the company's financial pressure.
• Step 2: The company is induced to enter basic business information, tax IDs, customs declarations, and invoices into a forged online platform, and is required to upload bank account details, allegedly for 'receiving the tax refund.' The platform design is realistic, featuring tax bureau logos and official registration numbers to increase credibility.
• Step 3: Fraudsters provide a forged 'Tax Bureau Tax Refund Approval Letter' or an 'AI-generated tax refund approval notice.' These documents are typically in PDF or QR code format, complete with official document formatting and seal images, claiming to be approved by the tax bureau, while in reality, they are entirely fabricated.
• Step 4: The platform prompts the company to pay 'service fees' or 'security deposits,' ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of yuan, claiming these fees are for platform technical maintenance and accelerating the refund process. The company completes the online payment without verification.
• Step 5: Upon receiving the payment, the fraudsters immediately close the platform account and delete all online traces. They may even use the obtained company information to submit fake tax refund applications to the tax bureau, leading to the company's tax funds being illegally diverted or the company being flagged for abnormal transactions, ultimately leaving the enterprise with nothing.
• Step 6: After discovering the funds have been siphoned off, victimized companies often find it difficult to track the perpetrators due to a lack of evidence. Furthermore, since the forged documents are deemed invalid by tax authorities, the cost of seeking legal recourse is high and recovering the stolen funds is extremely difficult.

红旗信号（看到这些快跑）

• 🚩 Correspondence or messages claim to be from the tax bureau but provide non-official email addresses, temporary domains, or personal WeChat IDs.
• 🚩 Demands for advance payments, security deposits, or service fees; official tax refund processes never charge taxpayers any fees.
• 🚩 The provided tax refund approval documents contain obvious typographical errors, non-functional QR codes, or use non-official seals.
• 🚩 Consistent use of high-pressure marketing tactics, such as claiming 'limited quotas' or 'offer expires soon.'
• 🚩 Providing links to so-called 'one-click tax refund' platforms through unofficial channels (social media, private group chats).

真实案例

• In March 2026, the major '9810' tax fraud case in Shenzhen was exposed, involving over 53 million yuan. 18 suspects were transferred to the procuratorate. The criminal methods included forging export tax refund documents and impersonating cross-border platforms to collect advance payments. (Source: https://www.amz123.com/t/PHGF0AvT)
• On April 27, 2026, Sina Finance reported that approximately 1,800 people were defrauded of about 200 million yuan. Fraudsters sent fake tax bureau notifications under the guise of 'tax refund red envelopes,' inducing victimized companies to provide bank information and pay upfront fees.
• On February 27, 2026, Tencent News disclosed four export tax refund fraud cases with a total involved amount exceeding 100 million yuan. The involved companies were all foreign trade import and export firms, all of which paid high fees due to their trust in forged tax documents. (Source: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260227A064C900)
• In October 2025, the Tiefeng District People's Court of Qiqihar City delivered a verdict on the Liu Jingwei gang's export tax refund fraud case. The mastermind, Liu Jingwei, used seven companies, including Mudanjiang Haowei Intelligent Furniture Co., Ltd., to issue fake agricultural product invoices and purchase invoices to fraudulently claim 66.9745 million yuan in export tax refunds. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined, while the other 12 accomplices were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 2 years and 10 months to 12 years. (Source: https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260227A064C900)

Official Stance

• 2026-05-11: Central News Agency (CNA) published 'Tax Bureau Warns of Increasing Tax Refund Scams: 4 Types of Fraudulent Methods,' reminding enterprises to guard against unsolicited contact, manufactured urgency, fake websites, and requests for sensitive information.
• 2026-02-27: The State Taxation Administration Tianjin Municipal Tax Service issued a notice on 'New Requirements for Collection Accounts,' clarifying that non-compliant tax refund applications will be blocked and reminding enterprises to verify through official channels.
• 2026-01-08: CCTV News channel reported 'Tax Departments Again Expose 6 Cases of Illegal Intermediary Tax Activities,' highlighting the risks of illegal fees and forged documents by cross-border tax refund intermediaries.

How to Protect Yourself

• ✅ Verify communication channels: When receiving notifications related to the tax bureau, first log in to the official tax bureau website or call the official service hotline; never click on links in emails or text messages directly.
• ✅ Consult professional tax advisors or lawyers: Any document requesting bank account details or advance payments must be verified for authenticity by a qualified tax advisor or lawyer.
• ✅ Be wary of advance payment requests: The official tax refund process of the State Taxation Administration does not charge any fees. If the other party requests a security deposit or service fee, refuse immediately and report it to the tax bureau.
• ✅ Use official tax bureau platforms: All tax refunds should be submitted through the official systems of the State Taxation Administration or local tax bureaus; avoid using third-party 'one-click tax refund' platforms.
• ✅ Preserve all evidence: Keep all emails, chat records, and payment vouchers. If you suspect fraud, report it to the public security organs and tax authorities immediately.