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Tax time SMS and email scams

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The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning fellow Australians about a high volume of SMS and email scams pretending to be from the ATO.

These scams encourage people to click on a link that directs them to fake myGov sign-in pages designed to steal their username and password.

Scammers use many different phrases to trick recipients into opening these links. These include (but are not limited to):

  • 'You are due to receive an ATO Direct refund.'
  • 'You have an ATO notification.'
  • 'You need to update your details to allow your Tax return to be processed.'
  • 'We need to verify your incoming tax deposit.'
  • 'ATO Refund failed due to incorrect BSB/Account number.'
  • 'Due to receive a refund, click here to receive a rebate.'

The images below are examples of the format this scam can take:

Do not open any links or provide the information requested.

The ATO won't send you an SMS or email with a link to log on to online services. They should be accessed directly by typing ato.gov.au or my.gov.au into your browser.

While the ATO may use SMS or email to contact them, they will never ask you to return personal information through these channels.

Report any suspicious contact claiming to be from the ATO to ReportScams@ato.gov.au.

 

Source: "Scam Alerts" https://www.ato.gov.au/general/online-services/identity-security-and-scams/scam-alerts, July 2023.