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Sweden’s national bank warns of e-currency scam

False information about digital currency is being circulated online in Sweden, the country's central bank said on Monday.

Published: 7 January 2019 16:07 CET

Sweden's national bank warns of e-currency scam

A security guard stands outside Sweden's Riksbank. Photo: Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman/SvD/TT

Sweden's Riksbank has repeatedly raised the idea of 'e-krona' or digital currency in recent years, but on Monday reiterated that a project launched in 2017 to look into the possibility of launching such a currency had not yet been completed.

Despite that, several potentially fraudulent claims have been made about e-krona, the bank warned.

“On certain websites and in social media, claims have been made that it is possible to purchase e-kronas,” the Riksbank said in a statement on Monday.

“The Riksbank has also been contacted by individuals describing how they have been called by companies claiming to be selling e-kronas on behalf of the Riksbank.”

It urged anyone who sees this kind of information or receives an offer to buy e-kronor to contact the bank.

The word e-krona was one of 33 selected by language experts as 2018's 'new words of the year', an annual list of terms that were either first coined, imported, or became particularly newsworthy in 2018.

In spring 2018, the Riksbank's governor said that e-krona was “around three to four years” in the future, and that the digital currency could replace large notes in the same way that notes have replaced small value coins in Sweden.

However, he stressed that any digital currency would not entirely replace physical cash if and when it is created.

READ ALSO: Sweden predicted to become first country with own cryptocurrency

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How to avoid falling victim to tax scams in Sweden

Anyone who earned more than 22,208 kronor last year received their tax returns digitally last week, marking the start of tax season.

That also means an expected peak in tax-related scams, Skatteverket warns.

Most of the scams are so-called phishing scams, meaning attempts to steal the victims’ personal information. Fraudsters may for example email a person, pretending to represent Skatteverket, and ask them for, among other things, their banking details.

“We’re seeing these in all channels. They use fake emails, SMS, letters and in some cases even phone calls. It is particularly common in tax declaration times – just when we’re about to send out the tax returns, the e-service opens and it’s possible to declare – but above all when it’s time for tax rebates,” Jan Janowski, a Skatteverket expert, told Swedish news agency TT.

A scam email might for example state that you’re entitled to a tax rebate and that you should click a link to receive it. Don’t click any links, open any attachments or reply to the message. Skatteverket advises that you immediately delete the email or text message.

Another common scam is that you receive a text message claiming to be from Skatteverket, telling you that you owe them money and you need to log in to calculate the amount. The website you’re urged to log in via does not belong to Skatteverket. Don’t click the link.

The agency stresses that it never asks people for their banking details. The exception is that you may be asked for your bank account information if you log into Skatteverket’s website to declare your taxes, but that always first requires you to log into the site.

To receive your tax rebate, you need to inform Skatteverket of your bank account number. You do this not by clicking a link in an email or SMS, but by logging into their website using a digital ID, for example BankID, and submitting your details. Only do this on your own initiative. If someone calls you and asks you to log in with your BankID during the phone call, don’t do it. That’s another common scam.

Skatteverket will also never call you to ask for your bank account or credit card number.

It will be possible to declare your taxes from March 19th. You’ll receive any tax rebate you’re owed by mid-April or early June, depending on when you submit your tax return. These are the dates when fraudsters are likely to attempt the most scams.

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