On 27 August 2026, the State Tax Inspectorate (Valstybinė mokesčių inspekcija – VMI) issued an urgent public warning regarding a renewed wave of sophisticated phishing campaigns targeting Lithuanian taxpayers. Criminal groups are actively impersonating VMI officials via SMS and messaging applications, distributing fraudulent notifications that claim recipients owe outstanding administrative fines or tax penalties. The scam messages typically contain malicious links directing victims to counterfeit payment portals designed to harvest banking credentials and personal identification data. VMI emphasizes that it never requests immediate payment transfers via links sent in unsolicited text messages, nor does it threaten instant asset seizure without prior formal written correspondence delivered through the official e. VMI electronic services portal or registered post. This alert follows a measurable spike in reported incidents during August 2026, prompting the Inspectorate to coordinate with the National Cyber Security Centre (NKSC) and the Financial Crime Investigation Service (FCIS) to trace and block the malicious infrastructure.
Key Takeaways
- Official Communication Channels Only: Taxpayers must verify any alleged debt exclusively through the authenticated e. VMI portal (https://evmi.vmi.lt) or by contacting the VMI helpline directly; legitimate payment references and amounts will appear in the taxpayer’s personal account dashboard.
- Reporting Mechanism Activated: VMI urges recipients of suspicious messages to forward the SMS text and sender number to the dedicated phishing reporting address (phishing@vmi.lt) and to the national Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-LT) to accelerate takedown of fraudulent domains.
- No Unsolicited Payment Links: The Inspectorate reiterates that it does not send clickable payment links via SMS, email, or social media; any message demanding urgent card payment or credential entry through an external link is a definitive indicator of fraud.
Disclaimer: This article is compiled and summarized by the AI based on publicly available information and is for general information purposes only. It does not constitute any form of formal tax advice, legal opinion, or basis for performance. Please consult a qualified professional tax advisor or legal counsel for tax advice.
Source: Read Original Announcement