Kaspersky Warns: Fake Tax Authority Sites Target Crypto Wallets in €1M Scam Across Europe and Latin America

• Fake tax portals mimicking official agencies steal crypto wallet seed phrases in multiple countries
• Kaspersky: No real tax rule ever requires seed phrase disclosure or wallet “verification”

On April 29, 2026 (UTC), Cryptopolitan reported that Kaspersky had uncovered a surge in sophisticated phishing campaigns targeting cryptocurrency holders during the 2026 tax season across Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. Cybercriminals established fake tax authority websites that closely mimicked official portals—including Germany’s ELSTER and France’s Ministry of Economy and Finance. These sites falsely asserted that new EU regulations demanded immediate “verification” of crypto wallet holdings, threatening users with fines of over €1 million if they failed to comply.

The fraudulent websites instructed victims to submit personal details and conduct a “verification” process that ended with a prompt for the user’s crypto wallet seed phrase. By securing this information, attackers gained full access to victims’ funds. The phishing schemes targeted users of popular platforms and wallets such as Ledger, Trezor, MetaMask, Trust Wallet, Coinbase, Binance, and WalletConnect.

Country-Specific Scams:
In Europe—particularly Germany, France, Austria, and Switzerland—the scams focused on convincing crypto holders that wallet “verification” was mandatory under new EU rules, threatening high-value fines for non-compliance. The primary tactic was to prompt users for their wallet seed phrase through fake official communications and nearly identical tax agency clones.

In France and Colombia, these phishing efforts also distributed malware disguised as legitimate tax forms. Victims who downloaded the files risked exposing their devices to harmful software designed to steal further credentials or financial data.

In Chile, cybercriminals offered fake tax refunds to entice victims into disclosing wallet details and personal information. In Brazil, some scams were cloaked as tax assistance services, leading users to share sensitive data like names, addresses, and taxpayer identification numbers for identity theft and further social engineering schemes.

Kaspersky reiterated that no EU or national tax authority requires seed phrase disclosure or wallet “verification” for tax purposes. Genuine tax agencies never request this information. The firm urged crypto wallet users and taxpayers to be vigilant during tax season, to verify any apparent communications from government agencies, and to never supply wallet seed phrases or respond to “tax-free” crypto offers.

Cryptopolitan concluded that these coordinated scams present significant threats to digital asset holders by leveraging fear of legal consequences to override normal cybersecurity precautions. Data from Kaspersky and affiliated reporting show that criminal groups are refining these attacks to exploit ongoing confusion surrounding evolving crypto regulations and the intersection of digital assets with standard tax compliance.