These emails claim to come from the ATO and usually offer a tax refund. Generally, they link to a fake ATO website asking for personal and credit card details or prompt you to open or download a file that will install a virus on your computer.
These emails can differ in appearance and level of sophistication. They generally state that you are eligible for a refund and tell you to click on a link or open an attachment to submit a form in order to receive it.
If you receive a scam email like this, do not attempt to open the attachment or download any files, as these may attempt to install a virus on your computer.
Example 1
The key indicators of this scam are that the email:
- Comes from a non ato.gov.au email address
- States the currency of the money (An Australian wouldn't need to say it's in AUD)
Example 2
Key Indicators that it is a scam include:
- The email not being personalised
- Contains poor grammar
- The links in the email is a non-governmental source