Australian Taxation Office issues warning over scam ‘tax refund’ email

A new tax scam is spreading across Australia, leading the ATO to issue an urgent warning. Do not click on this email.

The Australian Taxation Office has issued an urgent warning for a scam being emailed around the country containing convincing myGov branding.

The fake email says the recipient is owed money in taxes and directs the reader to fill out an application form.

Do not click anywhere in the email because the fake form will steal the receiver’s personal information, the tax office warns.

Your refund won’t be processed without revealing your personal information, the thieving email says.

One of the scam emails obtained by the Daily Mail says the receiver has $80.93 to claim.

“After the last annual calculation, we noticed that you are eligible to receive $80.93 AUD,” it reads.

“To submit the application electronically, please fill out the form. Once the form is completed, you will be asked to confirm that the information in the document is correct.

“Please click on the link below to submit and eForm for refund.”

The ATO says the email is misleading because it includes a convincing myGov logo.

But if the reader hovers their mouse over the link that allegedly directs them to the my.gov.au site, another address is shown.

Don’t open emails without names attached or with poor grammar.

The email also doesn’t include a name and has poor grammar and spelling, which are all good indicators of a scam.

The ATO says a “tax refund” form doesn’t even exist, while all online management of tax issues are conducted by genuine myGov accounts.

The tax office once again warned users to show caution when clicking links or opening attachments in emails.

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