TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) has reported text messages using its name to defraud people from the NT$6,000 ($195) surplus tax rebate planned by the government, reports said Friday (Jan. 6).

Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) announced Wednesday that each citizen was likely to receive the amount. This is to be paid from NT$140 billion in extra tax revenue to be shared with the public, most likely next month.

A website without gov.tw in its URL sent out text messages claiming to inform the public how to obtain the NT$6,000 rebate. MODA reported the case to the 165 fraud prevention hotline, SETN reported.

The ministry also repeated the government’s caution that it would not send any text messages or e-mails to the public to announce the rebates, which were likely to be wired into bank accounts. In any event, legislative amendments still need to be passed before the funds could be distributed, most likely after the Jan. 20-30 Lunar New Year holiday.

Details of how the public can receive the money still had to be worked out, so any messages about the funds having arrived, were bound to have come from fraud rings, MODA said.