Cyber Warning - MyGov Phishing Scam

Here is another UNSOLICITED and UNEXPECTED email message pretending to be from MyGov that is offering you an outstanding refund payment.

Beware!  This is a PHISHING SCAM!  Its goal is to trick you into clicking on the embedded “Access your form” hyperlink claiming that you will then receive a fast online refund payment.  However, this is false as there is no refund payment.

Do not click on this link.  This link is a loaded and dangerous hyperlink that will either:

Tips to protect your personal information, your accounts and avoid scams:

• take you to a fake myGov page and request you to provide your personal credentials and banking details; OR
• it will download a very dangerous malicious code called MALWARE onto your device.  This MALWARE will operate in the background to track and steal your personal credentials and financial information. 

What to look out for?    

• An UNSOLICITED and UNEXPECTED email purporting to be from ‘myGov’.
• Note the “From” and “To” names are: “no reply”.  If you right click on the email address, you will notice it is false and not from myGov (eg. noreply@snuffle.app).

• The message salutation is generic and does not mention you by name – “Dear Customer”.
• The message claims there is a refund payment available – Not So!!  Nor does it state what the refund payment relates to.
• The “New Refund” contains a range of information alleging registration, reference and payment details, but none of these are legitimate myGov numbers, nor are the bank details stated in the email.
• The message requests that you click on the embedded “Access your form” link to allegedly claim a fast online refund payment.  Instead, it requests you to save the refund information and you will also be requested to provide your personal information and bank account details.

• The message contains a false myGov sender address (“The MyGov.au Team”) and false telephone number – both linked to the scammers.
• The email contains some spelling and grammatical errors and foreign words (different language) at the bottom of the email.

Please note:

Although the ATO and myGov do send emails and SMS messages, they will never send you an email or SMS requesting you to click on a hyperlink that claims to direct you to a login page or accept a refund through online services.

If you have received a suspicious email and provided your myGov sign in information, you should take immediate action:

• Change your myGov password;
• If you’ve provided your banking details, contact your bank;
• If you require extra support, you can contact Services Australia’s Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126.

What should you do if you receive one of these emails?   

Don’t be fooled. Do not click on the link. Simply hit ‘DELETE’.