Refund scams
There are a number of refund scam emails currently circulating. These emails claim to come from the ATO and offer a tax refund. Generally, they link to a bogus ATO website asking for personal and credit card details. These emails can differ in their appearance and level of sophistication but will generally state that you are eligible for a refund and instruct you to click on a link to submit a form to receive it. The ATO will never email you asking for personal or credit card details and you should never provide this information.
One version of this scam contains an attachment infected with a virus. This email purports to be from the ATO and asks for the recipient to complete the attached form to receive a tax refund. There is zip file attached to the message that contains a malicious program. If you receive an email like this, do not open the attachment.
Under no circumstances should you give personal information including credit card or banking details. Anyone who has received a suspicious phone call or email should contact us immediately.
Key indicators of this scam include:
- the email asks you to provide personal details. You should always be suspicious of this
- it is poorly worded with spelling and grammatical mistakes (though this is not always the case)
- includes an attachment (form) or link to a webpage to lodge a form
- comes from an email address which is not a valid ATO email address
- asks for credit card and PIN numbers.
Below are some examples of refund scam emails and the forms that they link to:
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The email will appear to have been sent from the ATO and links to a very convincing version of the Government EasyPay website (see below).
Remember to always check the URL to ensure the website is legitimate.
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Example of a refund scam email content:
After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $210.75 AUD. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9 days in order to process it.
A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.
To access the form for your tax refund, please click here
Regards,
Australian Taxation Office
Sections within Examples of tax related scams
Last Modified: Sunday, 19 May 2013