It is late June, your tax paperwork is on your mind, and then it lands in your inbox: an email from the “ATO” saying you are owed a refund. Just click here to claim it. Stop right there, you have just met one of the most predictable scams in the Australian calendar.
Why tax time is scam season
Scammers are lazy but clever. They know millions of Australians are thinking about tax returns in June and July, expecting emails from accountants, myGov, and the ATO. A fake tax email sent in February looks weird. The same email in late June looks almost plausible. Timing is their camouflage.
What the fake emails look like
The most common version says you have a tax refund waiting and just need to “confirm your details” or click a link to process it. Variations claim your tax return has an error, your myGov account is suspended, or you owe money and must pay immediately to avoid penalties.
They look convincing: official logos, government-style language, sometimes even a fake myGov login page that is nearly identical to the real one. The differences, when you look closely:
- The sender address is not actually ato.gov.au or my.gov.au (hover over it or tap the sender name to see the real address)
- The link goes somewhere like ato-refund-portal.com instead of an official .gov.au address
- It creates urgency: “claim within 48 hours,” “your account will be suspended”
- It asks for details the ATO already has: TFN, bank account, myGov password
The one rule that defeats all of it
Here it is, the only rule you need: never log in to myGov or the ATO through a link in an email or text message. Ever. If you get a message claiming to be about your tax, open your browser yourself, type in my.gov.au, and log in the normal way. If there is genuinely something for you, it will be sitting in your myGov inbox.
The ATO and myGov will send you letters and put messages in your myGov inbox. They will not email you links to claim refunds. That one habit makes you effectively immune to this entire scam family.
Beyond email: texts and calls too
The same scam runs over SMS (“Your tax refund is ready: [link]”) and phone calls. ATO impersonation calls often sound official and can even fake the caller ID. The real ATO will never threaten you with immediate arrest, demand payment by gift card or bank transfer to a “holding account,” or ask for your myGov password. Any of those equals hang up.
If you already clicked or entered details
Do not panic, but do act quickly:
- Change your myGov password immediately (by typing the address yourself)
- If you gave bank details, call your bank now, they would rather get a false alarm than a drained account
- If you gave your TFN or other identity details, contact the ATO’s client identity support line on 1800 467 033
- Report the scam at scamwatch.gov.au and cyber.gov.au
Spread the word
These scams work because someone, somewhere, always clicks. If you know someone who is new to myGov or doing their first tax return, or an older relative who might not know the “never click the link” rule, mention this to them. Thirty seconds of conversation might save them thousands.
