ATO “Right to Obtain a Refund”; Malware Emails
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The claim
Emails purporting to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) claim that you have the right to obtain a refund or reimbursement and should therefore click a link to download more information.
IMPORTANT NOTICE Australian Taxation Office – 20/10/2016
After the last estimation of your fiscal actions has been found that you have the right to obtain a refund of 2335.85 AUD.Please follow the link below to download the deal information: [link removed]
Liam Wesley,
Tax Refund Department
Australian Taxation Office
SIGNIFICANT NOTIFICATION Australian Taxation Office – 20/10/2016
After the last estimation of your financial activity has been found that you have the right to obtain a reimbursement of 7272.48 AUD.Please follow the link below to download the operation information: [link removed]
James Wesley,
Tax Refund Department
Australian Taxation Office
What the fact-checkers found
The emails are not from the ATO and the promised refund does not exist. It is a criminal ruse designed to trick you into visiting a fraudulent website and downloading malware.
According to a series of emails that claim to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), you have the right to obtain a refund or reimbursement for several thousand dollars. The emails include a link that supposedly downloads a document with more information about your unexpected refund.
Clicking the link opens a fake ATO “download center” webpage (see screenshot below) that prompts you to download what it claims is a PDF containing a declaration form.
However, the supposed PDF is in fact a.zip file that harbours a malicious.scr file. If you click the.scr file, it can install malware on your computer.
Details, such as the amount of the supposed refund and the name of the supposed ATO staff member listed in the signature may vary in different versions of the emails. Some versions claim to be from the “Australian Taxation Bureau” rather than the ATO.
The “tax refund” ruse has been used repeatedly in both phishing and malware attacks. The ATO will never send you an unsolicited email that claims that you must click a link or opened an attached file to process a refund.
If you receive one of these emails, do not click any links or open any attachments that it contains.
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Check a similar messageRelated fact-checks
Browse the archive →Australian Tax Refund Scam Email
The email is a phishing scam. The message is not from the Australian Taxation Office. The promised refund does not exist. The scam email is designed to trick you into clicking a link and submitting your personal and financial information on a bogus website.
HM Revenue & Customs Income Tax Repayment Phishing Scam
This story was first published on May 3, 2011
ATO ‘Tax Refund Notification’ Phishing Scam Email
According to this email, which purports to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), you are ‘qualified for a refund’ and should therefore click a link to submit a tax refund request.