Tax refund scam?

qwerty123 on 12/07/2014 - 20:04

I received this email and I'm not whether it's a scam.

Sent from: Australian Taxation Office ([email protected])

Message For: [Email address]

We have worked hard to determinate as accurately as possible the tax refunds that our citizens should receive. As a result, our calculations regarding your past year taxes tell us that we have to refund you $XXX.XX AUD.

Quick info about your refund:
Refund amount: $XXX.XX AUD.
Tax ID: XXXXXXXXXX.
Payout method: Australian Bank Account or Australian Credit Card.
Processing time: We complete most of the refunds in 12 working days.

In order to start the refund process, you need to visit the link below and complete the tax refund form.
http://taxboard.gov.au/2014/tax.ref.aspx?id=[Email address]
Be aware:
In some cases such as peak periods the processing time could take longer. If your refund appears to be delayed, you can make a formal enquiry.

For security reasons, we will record your ip-address, the date and time. If we will discover invalid records on your refund form, the process will be frozen and we will contact you again. To avoid any delays, please make sure that you will fill the required info exactly as registered.
Sincerely,
Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

Financial

Comments

  • donga100 on 12/07/2014 - 20:14
    +6

    100% scam. Same one comes up every year. Also, the ATO is not sending you email from a email.group.com address.

  • hamza23 on 12/07/2014 - 20:17
    +6

    This is a scam.

    The email address, the wording, the fact you can't get a refund to your credit card etc etc.

    "If we will discover"
    "Info"

    I don't believe the ATO use the word "citizens" either.

    The ATO also don't work out your tax for you.

    • retiredfeline on 12/07/2014 - 21:21

      The ATO also don't work out your tax for you.

      Actually they do work out your tax liability based on your return and their assessment takes precedence over your own estimation. What you probably meant to write is that the ATO doesn't fill in a tax return for you.

      But sure, this is an old scam to steal personal details.

    • Wallace on 13/07/2014 - 13:09

      Correct, refunds are directly deposited to the taxpayer's Australian bank account and not anyone else's account.

      And NEVER into a credit card.

    • Cheshire Cat on 13/07/2014 - 22:38

      First thing I noticed. Poor grammar is never a good start and should raise immediate flags.

      Non government email address should scream scam as well.

  • chad3456 on 12/07/2014 - 20:27

    its a common scam people get all the time. just delete and ignore it

  • qwerty123 on 12/07/2014 - 20:29

    Oh okay, thanks guys.

  • DrDuck on 12/07/2014 - 21:04
    +1

    If you still have the email, then please forward it to the ATO via the email they have set up for this: [email protected] (from here, found by searching "ato report email scam" in google).

    As others have pointed out, all ATO emails will come from an @ato.gov.au email address and the ATO would never include confidential details in an unsolicited email.

  • cowiie on 12/07/2014 - 22:54

    SCAM! I received it during the months of Feb and March when I had already received my refund in August the previous year…

  • c64 on 13/07/2014 - 12:40

    how would the tax office get your email address in the first place?

    • macfanboy on 13/07/2014 - 13:27

      you can include it and send it to the ATO.

  • zambuck on 14/07/2014 - 08:08

    Does the fact that email included a real .gov.au address for part of the scam imply that site (The Board of Taxation) had been successfully hacked at some point? I note the destination URL isn't available now.

  • SaberX on 14/07/2014 - 16:28

    IF the tax office disagreed withy our ITR assessment they would call you directly or mostly they send you official ATO correspondence advising you of the amendments etc.

  • KiLLUMiN4Ti on 14/07/2014 - 16:45
    +1

    My email was titled Australian Guvernment Tax Return :D

    • donga100 on 14/07/2014 - 19:28

      How much money did you end up getting out of it?

      • KiLLUMiN4Ti on 15/07/2014 - 01:51
        +1

        -$3549….I must've owed the guvernment ;-)

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