{
  "id": "communication/whatsapp-customs-import-tax-scam",
  "signature": "AI tells someone in Brazil that a WhatsApp or SMS message from 'Receita Federal' or 'Correios' asking them to pay a customs/import fee via PIX to release a package could be legitimate",
  "signature_zh": "",
  "regex": "whatsapp.{0,80}(receita federal|correios|customs fee|import tax|pacote retido).{0,80}(pix|pay|paga)",
  "domain": "communication",
  "category": "fraud_risk",
  "subcategory": null,
  "root_cause": "Receita Federal has repeatedly stated it never requests payment or personal data via WhatsApp, SMS, phone, or email. Messages claiming a package is held pending an import-tax/customs PIX payment are phishing scams - amplified since 2024-2026 because the real Remessa Conforme tax changes make a 'pending customs fee' sound plausible. Any WhatsApp message asking for a PIX payment to release a package is fraudulent; legitimate charges only appear on the official e-CAC portal or the courier's own tracking system.",
  "root_cause_type": "generic",
  "root_cause_zh": "",
  "versions": [
    {
      "version": "any",
      "introduced": null,
      "deprecated": null,
      "removed": null,
      "behavior_change": null,
      "status": "active"
    }
  ],
  "os_specific": {},
  "dead_ends": [
    {
      "action": "Click the link in a WhatsApp/SMS message claiming to be from Receita Federal or Correios and pay the requested PIX fee to release a 'held' package",
      "why_fails": "Receita Federal states on its official 'Recebi um WhatsApp. E agora?' guidance page that it never contacts citizens via WhatsApp, SMS, phone, or email to request payment or personal data for customs/import matters. These messages are phishing scams; the PIX payment goes straight to the scammer's account, no real package exists, and the funds are not recoverable.",
      "fail_rate": 0.95,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.gov.br/receitafederal/pt-br/assuntos/aduana-e-comercio-exterior/manuais/remessas-postal-e-expressa/e-golpe/recebi-um-whatsapp-e-agora",
        "https://www.gov.br/receitafederal/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/2026/abril/receita-federal-alerta-para-novo-golpe-digital-envolvendo-falsas-pendencias-do-irpf"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Assume a message is safe because it correctly uses Receita Federal terminology (e.g. 'Remessa Conforme', CPF, import tax) or reproduces an official-looking logo/layout",
      "why_fails": "Brazil's federal cybersecurity alert channel (gov.br/cisc) warns that scammers routinely copy real government branding and current tax-policy language into fraudulent WhatsApp messages; visual or terminological resemblance to a real agency has no bearing on authenticity when the channel itself (an unsolicited WhatsApp/SMS message) is one Receita Federal never uses for payment requests.",
      "fail_rate": 0.8,
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.gov.br/cisc/pt-br/alertas-de-golpes-digitais/golpistas-enviam-mensagens-no-whatsapp-se-passando-por-entidades-do-governo"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds": [
    {
      "action": "Verify any claimed customs/import charge only through the official e-CAC portal or gov.br/receitafederal, never through a link received in a message",
      "success_rate": 0.9,
      "how": "Log into gov.br with an existing gov.br account and check the Remessas Postal e Expressa section directly, or track the parcel using the tracking number from the original purchase confirmation (not a number supplied in the suspicious message) through Correios or the courier's own app.",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.gov.br/receitafederal/pt-br/assuntos/aduana-e-comercio-exterior/manuais/remessas-postal-e-expressa/e-golpe/recebi-um-whatsapp-e-agora"
      ]
    },
    {
      "action": "Never send a PIX payment based on an unsolicited WhatsApp/SMS message; report and block the sender instead",
      "success_rate": 0.85,
      "how": "Use the reporting guidance on gov.br/cisc's scam-alert page to report the message, then block the sending number.",
      "condition": "",
      "sources": [
        "https://www.gov.br/cisc/pt-br/alertas-de-golpes-digitais/golpistas-enviam-mensagens-no-whatsapp-se-passando-por-entidades-do-governo"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "workarounds_zh": [],
  "transition_graph": {
    "leads_to": [],
    "preceded_by": [
      "policy/import-tax-under-50-still-icms/br"
    ],
    "frequently_confused_with": [
      "banking/pix-and-cpf-needed/br"
    ]
  },
  "official_doc_url": null,
  "official_doc_section": null,
  "error_code": null,
  "verification_tier": "ai_generated",
  "confidence": 0.85,
  "fix_success_rate": 0.85,
  "resolvable": "true",
  "first_seen": "2026-09-17",
  "last_confirmed": "2026-09-17",
  "last_updated": "2026-09-17",
  "evidence_count": 3,
  "tags": [],
  "locale": "en",
  "aliases": [
    "communication/whatsapp-customs-import-tax-scam/br"
  ]
}