Tax time could really be taxing if you give out personal details to scammers impersonating Federal Government organisations.
WA ScamNet has received multiple reports from consumers who have received emails falsely claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) or Services Australia.
The emails are nothing more than phishing attempts to gain your personal information in order to steal your identity.
ATO tax refund scam
- The email claims the recipient is entitled to receive a tax refund if they send personal information, including their:
- Tax File Number (TFN)
- Bank BSB and account number, or Osko PayID
- Residential address
- Copies of driver’s licence (both sides)
- Copy of Medicare card.
- The email claims to come from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), but in fact comes from an unrelated email address. For example, in this case it is @kuc.biglobe.ne.jp
- The consumer is asked to send their personal details to refund@review-ato-office-australia.com (another email address unrelated to the ATO).
ATO scam
- The email falsely claims the ATO is checking all claims made through the COVID-19 related JobKeeper payments and Backing Business Incentive Scheme and urges the receiver to send copies of their driver’s licence and Medicare card to substantiate their identification.
- The ATO does not ask you to provide personal information via email or SMS.
- The email in this instance appears to come from an @ato.gov.au email address, but our investigation revealed that the email address has been spoofed (disguised).
- If the consumer hits “reply”, the email address becomes @jobkeeper-payments.com, which is hosted on a Russian domain. When translated into English, it appears this page has been solely set-up to host the email.
Services Australia scam
- The email falsely claims to be from Services Australia claiming to give you ‘prominence’ to your qualification for a subsidy benefit or grant.
- The email uses the name ‘Australian Government / Services Australia’ but the email address is @newsplus.ch
- It requests detailed information including your full name, DOB, address, TFN and copies of driver’s licenses and/or passport and Medicare cards be sent through via return email.
- If the consumer hits “reply” the email address becomes a @pobox.sk address.
- The domain seems to only be set up to host the return email address.
How to tell it’s a scam
- Sometimes you can tell it’s not really from the ATO or Services Australia (or any other organisation) by checking the sender’s address.
- Although it might say ‘ATO’ or ‘Services Australia’ or something similar in the sender box, the return email address might be a non-Government email address. If that’s the case, it will usually be from a free email account provider.
- Be aware that the ATO and Services Australia do not ask you to provide personal information via email or SMS.
How to protect yourself:
- If you receive an email like this, DO NOT REPLY with the requested information.
- If you receive a suspicious call, email or text message claiming to be from the ATO, you can:
- contact the ATO on 1800 008 540 to verify the ATO interaction
- forward the entire email to reportscams@ato.gov.au
- take a screenshot of the text and email it to reportscams@ato.gov.au
- If you receive a suspicious email or text message claiming to be from Services Australia, you can:
- Forward the email or a screenshot of the text message to reportascam@servicesaustralia.gov.au
- Contact the Scams and Identity Theft Help Desk on 1800 941 126
- NEVER send money or give financial/personal details to someone you don’t know or trust.
- If you have handed over personal information, immediately contact ID Care.
- If in doubt – contact WA ScamNet.
Related Scams
-
WA Seniors Card scam
Read More...Western Australian seniors are being targeted by scammers through a scam WA Seniors Card website requesting money and multiple forms of personal identification.
-
Telco false billing
Read More...iiNet and Telstra customers are the target of an email phishing scam that aims to steal credit card details by using spoofed email addresses and claims of being unable to process payments.
-
Kimberley flood victims targeted
Read More...More scams target Kimberley flood victims via social media.
-
Fake purchase phishing scam (Amazon & PayPal)
Read More...WA ScamNet is receiving increasing reports of scammers impersonating staff from Amazon and its streaming service Amazon Prime.
The calls and messages are a phishing scam to try to lure consumers out of their banking and personal information.
-
Don’t get infected by FluBot
Read More...If you’ve been bombarded with suspicious, garbled text messages lately that mention a missed call or voicemail, you’re not alone.
-
Payment redirection scams in property transactions
Read More...Property buyers and sellers need to be suspicious of any email appearing to be from their real estate or settlement agent asking for a payment of money or advising of a change in bank account details. This could be the work of scammers.
-
Discount bills
Read More...Scammers pretending to be from legitimate businesses are cold-calling people and promising savings of 20-40 per cent on their household bills.
-
Payment redirection scams
Read More...Alarm bells should ring if a supplier of services or goods contacts your organisation to provide new bank account details for you to pay them.
-
Who's really calling? Not the ATO or ACIC
Read More...Consumer Protection has received more reports from people who have received telephone calls from scammers pretending to work for government or law enforcement agencies.
-
JB Hi-Fi giveaway scam
Read More...Scammers posing as electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi are sending SMS messages claiming there is a ‘giveaway’ that expires soon – but be warned, it’s nothing more than a phishing exercise to get hold of your credit card details.
-
Live stream scams
Read More...This type of scam appears to have emerged during COVID-19 when live stream events have become more popular due to social distancing restrictions.
-
$70,000 in losses reported from victims of COVID-19-related scams
Read More...WA ScamNet has received reports from seven victims of scams where COVID-19 was used in the plot to steal a total of about $68,000.
-
The latest COVID-19 scams in Australia
Read More...Scammers are taking advantage of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic with numerous scams surfacing in Australia across many environments including banking, telcos, superannuation, Services Australia and more.
-
Check the tick before you click
Read More...These days, it pays to be extra vigilant on social media. Like-harvesting, or like-farming as it is also called, is a scam perpetuated throughout Facebook and features bogus pages designed to do nothing more than “harvest” your likes.
-
COVID-19 coronavirus scams
Read More...Scammers are taking advantage of fears surrounding COVID-19 to deceive victims into handing over their money and/or personal information, so it’s important to be extra vigilant.
-
False Invoices
Read More...Businesses are often targeted by scammers hoping that busy firms may sign invoices without checking their authenticity. Sometimes these fake invoices are for a listing in a publication which the business hasn’t ordered.
-
Chemist Warehouse survey
Read More...A fake online questionnaire claiming to be from popular chemists are doing the rounds. People receive a link to the survey, which may even appear to be sent by a friend or family member.
-
Online loan scams
Read More...Consumer Protection has issued an alert after many West Australians desperate to get a loan have been duped by online loan scams. Some of the scammers are stealing the identity of legitimate online money lenders, adding to the confusion of consumers.
-
Fake NDIS callers
Read More...Scammers posing as NDIS providers are calling and requesting personal information and banking details.
-
Accident Helpline
Read More...Callers are falsely claiming to be from a legitimate Western Australian legal practice requesting information about a recent car accident.
-
Fake CEO scam
Read More...Scammers impersonate a CEO and use their email account to send an email to employees asking them to transfer money to a bank account.
-
NBN Scams
Read More...Opportunistic scammers are attempting to trick people into giving personal information to potentially steal their money or identity.
-
Fake infringements and fines
Read More...There are a number of fake infringement notice emails doing the rounds. The most recent examples appear to come from the Police and Strathmore Cricket Club. Police do not send infringement notices by email or text so don’t be fooled by this email.
-
Qantas free tickets
Read More...Fake web pages claiming Qantas is giving away two free first class tickets for their 96th anniversary are being shared on social media.
-
Qantas Customer Satisfaction Survey
Read More...Qantas Frequent Flyers should be aware of a bogus email to ‘complete the survey’ and ‘claim a reward’ - it a phishing scam.
-
Smales caught in help me scam
Read More...Scammers are using the name of a well known Subiaco jeweller in a new version of the ‘help me’ scam.
-
Can you hear me? suspected hoax
Read More...A suspected hoax is being used as a way to try to sell call blockers.
-
Australian Red Cross blood donors beware
Read More...The Australian Red Cross Blood Service announced that a file containing personal data of more than half a million donors, has been exposed online.
WA ScamNet has more information and scam prevention tips.
-
Fake WA police officer scam warning
Read More...Consumer Protection has noticed an increase in the number of scammers posing as WA police officers in an attempt to con money out of unsuspecting Western Australians.
-
Car Crash Compensation Phone Scam
Read More...Scammers are offering compensation for a car accident in an attempt to obtain personal information from victims.
-
Department of Transport (DoT) scams
Read More...A caller, claiming to be from DoT, asks for insurance/personal details over the phone and may also involve automated calls asking customers to respond to a survey.
-
Phone scammers pose as Federal Government employees
Read More...Consumer Protection’s general advice line and regional offices have been getting lots of reports from consumers regarding phone scammers claiming to be from the Federal Government. The caller offers either a rebate or refund of overcharged fees.
-
Online blackmail scam targets students
Read More...Students are being warning about an online blackmail scam, whereby scammers are trying to extort money from students visiting essay chat forums. Scammers gain personal information and create spoof emails from universities in order to trap students into paying up big bucks.
-
Fake iTunes receipt phishing email
Read More...Email claiming to be from Apple's iTunes store lists expensive orders supposedly charged to the user's account. But clicking this link will give the scammers secure personal details.
-
myGov fake emails
Read More...WA ScamNet regularly receives reports about scam emails that claim to be from the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
Usually the email’s offering a tax refund or it might be asking you to update your details.
The body of the email will ask you to click a link – never do this as this is how the scammers will get your details.
-
Commerce government officer impersonations
Read More...Scammers are pretending to be Commerce officers in email and phone scams.
-
Real estate scam attempt thwarted
Read More...Consumer Protection and WA Police have issued a joint warning to real estate agents after scammers tried to sell a Perth home without the owner’s knowledge. An overseas organised criminal network began the process of selling the home by emailing the Property Manager, using a fake email address which mirrored the true owner’s name. Thankfully the agent followed WA Government guidelines which were introduced following the fraudulent sale of a Karrinyup home in 2010 and a Ballajura home in 2011.
-
Voucher Prize scams
Read More...Beware of “voucher prize” scam text messages. Do not to respond to text messages which claim you have won a voucher, In fact you may be entering into an expensive mobile premium SMS service.
-
SMS competition & trivia scams
Read More...An SMS competition or SMS trivia scam usually arrives as a text message and may encourage you to enter a competition for a great prize.The scammers make money by charging extremely high rates for the messages you send, and any further messages they send to you. These charges could be as high as $4 for each message sent and/or received.
-
Telemarketing
Read More...Telemarketing or ‘Cold calling’ is an unexpected or unsolicited telephone call offering investments or financial advice. The investments they offer usually guarantee high returns or encourage you to invest in overseas companies.
-
Australian Fair Trading
Read More...What a cheek! Cyber criminals aim to steal your identity by putting out an email confirming your “complaint” about identity theft!
-
Confirmation Orders
Read More...An email arrives confirming your order for a lap top computer or other product or service. The email attachment provides further details of your order. Hang on! You haven’t ordered a laptop. You click on the attachment to find out more information, fearing that somebody has stolen your credit card information to place the order. And that’s exactly what the scammers are relying upon
-
Hang Seng Bank
Read More...Con artists posing as employees and senior executives of the Hang Seng Bank are trying to rope you into becoming a ‘partner’ in a business transaction.
-
SEEK job scams
Read More...The operators of these sophisticated scams use a well-known legitimate job vacancy website to hook you in to revealing your details.
-
TNT Courier Service
Read More...Scammers are using the names, brands and logos of well-known companies, including courier services, to hook you into advance fee fraud and lottery swindles.