Key Takeaways
- Verify any LHDN letter, call or email through official channels before responding: the HASiL Contact Centre at 03-8911 1000, your MyTax account or a branch visit.
- LHDN never demands payment into personal accounts, never asks for banking passwords and never threatens immediate arrest by phone.
- Official LHDN emails always end with @hasil.gov.my, and tax payments go only to the Director General of Inland Revenue or IRBM.
- Ignoring a genuine audit letter is the costlier mistake, because the 14-day document clock runs whether or not you open it.
- Report suspected scams to aduan@hasil.gov.my and cyber999@cybersecurity.my.
Deciding whether an LHDN letter is genuine or a scam is now part of running a business in Malaysia. Fraudsters impersonate tax officers by letter, phone call, email and WhatsApp precisely because tax fear makes people act before thinking. The trap cuts both ways: pay a scammer and the money is gone, but ignore a real audit letter and a 14-day legal clock runs out while it sits unopened. This guide shows you how to tell the difference in minutes, using only official channels.
Is That LHDN Letter Genuine or a Scam?
Verify every letter, call or email claiming to be from LHDN through official channels before you act: call the HASiL Contact Centre at 03-8911 1000, log into your MyTax account or visit your LHDN branch. Both mistakes cost money, because scammers steal through fake demands while genuine audit letters carry real deadlines.
That second half surprises people. A genuine audit notification starts a legal process whether or not you believe it is real, and the process it starts is described in our complete guide to a tax audit in Malaysia. So the goal is never to ignore suspicious contact. It is to verify it fast and respond to the real ones properly. When a letter does turn out to be real, SSAM's tax audit services in Kuala Lumpur take the response from there.
To show you exactly what the real thing looks like, we are sharing an actual example of a genuine LHDN email below, with personal details redacted. Keep it in mind as a reference point while you work through the checks in this guide. And if this exact notice about rental income from more than two premises is the one sitting in your inbox, our companion guide to the LHDN rental income email explains why you received it and how to respond before 31 July 2026.
What a Genuine LHDN Audit Letter Contains
Real audit correspondence follows the notification requirements of the Tax Audit Framework, and it looks administrative rather than threatening:
- An official reference number tied to your tax file that LHDN staff can confirm when you call.
- The years of assessment under review, stated plainly.
- The records requested, listed specifically: ledgers, financial statements, bank statements, invoices.
- Names of the audit officers assigned, for field visits, together with the visit date and premises.
- A response deadline, typically 14 calendar days for documents.
- Official letterhead and your correct tax details, not generic greetings to "taxpayer".
What a genuine letter never contains is a QR code to a payment page, a personal bank account number or a demand to settle by tonight. If the letter is about suspected evasion rather than a routine check, the tone and process differ again, as explained in our comparison of a tax audit vs tax investigation.
What LHDN Will Never Do
Memorise this list, because every scam breaks at least one of these rules:
- Never demands payment into a personal bank account. Income tax and real property gains tax are paid only to the Director General of Inland Revenue or IRBM.
- Never asks for your online banking passwords or OTPs. LHDN may ask for your IC number, name and tax number to verify identity, and nothing more.
- Never threatens immediate arrest over the phone. Enforcement follows written legal process, not phone ultimatums.
- Never calls from overseas numbers or personal mobile numbers.
- Never asks you to download an app to settle your taxes or "verify" your account.
- Never emails from anything other than an @hasil.gov.my address.
One pressure tactic deserves special mention: the fake 72-hour ultimatum. Genuine LHDN deadlines are stated in days and printed in letters, not screamed in emails threatening prosecution by the weekend.
How to Verify in Three Steps
- Call the official number yourself. Ring the HASiL Contact Centre at 03-8911 1000 (or 603-8911 1000 from overseas) and quote the letter's reference number. Never call back the number printed on a suspicious letter or shown on caller ID, because both are easily faked. HASiL Live Chat and the official feedback form are alternatives.
- Check your own tax position online. Log into MyTax and review e-Lejar. A genuine audit, arrears balance or correspondence trail is visible against your file. A scammer's "unpaid tax" will not be.
- Walk into your LHDN branch. For anything involving significant money, many practitioners advise the branch visit over the phone call. Bring the letter, and an officer will confirm in minutes whether it originated from LHDN.
Until verification is complete, do not pay anything, click any link, download any attachment or share any credentials.
Common Scam Patterns in Malaysia
The impersonation playbook keeps recycling the same moves:
- Spoofed caller ID showing what looks like an official LHDN number, followed by a "tax officer" and often a fake police transfer.
- Fake summons PDFs with copied logos and stamps, emailed or sent through WhatsApp, demanding settlement to avoid court.
- WhatsApp officers using LHDN logos as profile pictures, offering to "settle your case" quietly.
- Ultimatum emails claiming tax evasion penalties unless you act within 72 hours, sent from non-hasil.gov.my addresses.
- Refund bait, where a supposed overpayment needs your banking details to be returned.
If money has already moved, act immediately: contact your bank, call the National Scam Response Centre at 997, and report the incident to aduan@hasil.gov.my and cyber999@cybersecurity.my.
If the Letter Is Genuine: Your Next 14 Days
Once verification confirms the letter is real, shift from suspicion to execution:
- Diarise the deadline. Count 14 calendar days from the request date and plan backwards.
- Gather the listed documents completely. Partial submissions invite deeper review, and our step-by-step guide to the LHDN tax audit process explains your rights along the way.
- Understand why you were selected. The common selection patterns are covered in our breakdown of LHDN tax audit triggers, and knowing yours shapes the response.
- Know the stakes and the exits. The cost of findings sits in our guide to LHDN tax audit penalties, known errors are cheaper fixed through a voluntary disclosure to LHDN, and a wrong assessment can be challenged using the process in our guide on how to appeal an LHDN tax assessment.
- Bring in representation early if the letter is complex. A licensed tax agent manages correspondence and deadlines so nothing lapses while you run the business.
SSAM verifies and responds to LHDN correspondence for clients as a MOF licensed tax agent with 40 years of experience and more than 1,000 clients. If a letter is sitting on your desk right now, speak to SSAM or WhatsApp the team today, before the deadline decides for you.
Frequently Asked Questions About LHDN Letters and Scams
How do I check if an LHDN letter is real?
Call the HASiL Contact Centre at 03-8911 1000 and quote the reference number, check your file in MyTax, or bring the letter to your nearest LHDN branch. Never rely on the contact details printed on a suspicious letter.
Does LHDN contact taxpayers by WhatsApp?
Treat WhatsApp "officers" as scams. Official audit notifications come as formal letters tied to your tax file, and official emails end with @hasil.gov.my. Anyone offering to settle your case through chat is not LHDN.
What if I already paid a scammer?
Contact your bank immediately, call the National Scam Response Centre at 997, and report to aduan@hasil.gov.my and cyber999@cybersecurity.my. Speed matters most in the first hours.
Can I ignore a letter I think is fake?
Verify it first. If it is fake, report and ignore it. If it is genuine, the 14-day document deadline runs regardless, and missing it creates penalties a scammer never could.
Will LHDN ask for my IC number on the phone?
LHDN may ask for your IC number, name and tax reference to verify who they are speaking to. It will never ask for banking passwords, OTPs or payments to personal accounts.
Data Sources / References
- LHDN, Beware of Tax Scams: https://www.hasil.gov.my/en/beware-of-tax-scams/
- LHDN, Tax Audit Framework on Income Tax and Employer (15 March 2025): https://www.hasil.gov.my/media/wgpombsp/20250315_tax-audit-framework-on-income-tax-and-employer.pdf
- Malay Mail, LHDN scam alerts: What to do if you receive suspicious tax demands (10 June 2026): https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/06/10/lhdn-scam-alerts-what-to-do-if-you-receive-suspicious-tax-demands/223226
The information in this article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, accounting, financial or legal advice. Tax laws change frequently and may not apply to your situation. Always consult a qualified professional before acting on any information here.
