The Ministry of Finance today urged the public to be cautious of phishing scams, as registration is to begin tomorrow for the NT$10,000 universal cash handout.
Four fraudulent ministry URLs were detected via the real-time monitoring system on Friday last week and Sunday, and have been promptly dealt with, the ministry said in a news release.
The four fake Web sites are: twmof.xyz, cgbs.shop, twmof.info and cgsss.info.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Official government agency Web sites end with “.gov.tw,” it said, adding that there is always a dot before "gov," and no additional English letters or numbers precede it.
The government never sends texts or e-mails instructing anyone to withdraw money or register, nor does it call to ask people to use ATMs or online banking for transfers, it said.
The ministry urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid falling for scams to prevent personal information theft or fraud.
The ministry said it has formed a cross-agency anti-fraud task force with the Ministry of Digital Affairs and Financial Information Service Co, monitoring around the clock for fake URLs or logos.
Internet service providers were immediately ordered to stop resolving or restrict access to these addresses, and network service providers were instructed to make the URLs inaccessible to prevent the public from mistakenly clicking on them, according to Article 42 of the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act (詐欺犯罪危害防制條例), it said.
Once any fake Web site is detected, protective measures are immediately activated, the ministry said, adding that the government would handle all criminal activity without leniency.
This year's universal cash handout offers five collection methods: registration for deposit, ATM withdrawal, post office withdrawal, direct deposit and distribution via rosters.
From 8am tomorrow, online registration for the cash handout would begin on the official Web site in stages based on the last digit of the applicant's national ID number or Alien Resident Certificate number.
Those whose numbers end in 0 or 1 can register tomorrow, followed by 2 or 3 on Thursday, 4 or 5 on Friday, 6 or 7 on Saturday, and 8 or 9 on Sunday.
Registration would be open on the Web site regardless of the ID card's last digit from Monday next week to April 30 next year, with the option to modify and verify information available starting on Thursday next week.
The funds are expected to be deposited sequentially starting on Tuesday next week at the earliest, according to each bank's operating procedures.
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