Beware the Tax Office Scam
I noticed in my spam filter two messages that are supposed to be from the Australian Tax Office telling me about a Tax Refund. I don’t believe for a moment that they would contact me that way – I still get mail direct from them or via my Accountant, however just to alert you to some other things about this email.
- It is not personally addressed.
- Any correspondence from the tax office would include my tax account number details.
- Email is not secure so why would they anyway?
- Why does it list AUD? I didn’t think the Australian Tax Office dealt in other currency with Australian tax payers?
- Why would I need to submit a tax refund form? Didn’t they just say they’d done a calculation?
- If I hold my mouse over the hyperlink I can see straight away it’s not the ATO website address but some other scammer’s address. I hope they get shut down quickly. It started with http://pool-96 for those interested in knowing.
When are these idiots going to spend their time on something worthwhile that helps people rather than trying to rip them off?
Dear Australian Taxation Office customer,
After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of AUD $250.50.
Please submit the tax refund form and allow us 3-5 business 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.
NOTE!
For security reasons, we will record your ip-address and date.
Thank you,
Australian Taxation Office Online Department.
One of the downsides to life online – the neverending parade of scams that find their way into your email. Thankfully, there are people like you who will sound the alarm so others do not get taken in by these people. Maybe if they find out quickly that no one will fall for these anymore thanks to the education provided by you, Kathie, they will spend their time on something worthwhile that helps people rather than trying to rip them off.
Well, it’s a little different from the good old “you’ve won the lottery” I am still getting.
Seriously though: although it sounds dumb to a lot of people, there are still a lot of people who fall for it. It’s still a million dollar industry in Australia alone!