Sophisticated 'phishing' scam promises tax refunds |
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The Assistant Treasurer has warned Australians of a new email phishing* scam using the lure of a tax refund to try and steal private information. "This particular scam is quite sophisticated and uses convincing fakes of what could be easily mistaken for Australian Tax Office web pages," he said. The email claims to be from the ATO and shows a fake Tax Office email address as the sender. It incorporates the Tax Office logo and includes the words "Tax refund" in the subject heading. The recipient is prompted to enter their email address, name and date of birth to enable a search for any refund owing. They are then directed to a bogus Tax Office website and asked for personal and credit card details. Anyone who has already entered their credit card information into the bogus site should immediately report it to their credit card provider. Note(*) Phishing: To request confidential information over the internet under false pretences to fraudulently obtain credit card numbers, passwords or other personal data. |
