Email Scams


Email scams on the rise - protect your information

The ATO has seen a significant increase in the number of email and phone scams designed to trick you into giving away personal details such as tax file numbers, banking and credit card details.

Many of these scams are quite sophisticated, appearing to come from ATO emails, and some even link back to very convincing versions of the ATO’s online services registration page.

Some emails will ask you to provide details which will then enable the sender to obtain your confidential information, while others ask you to click a link which subsequently installs malware (malicious software) into your computer.

It is important to be vigilant when opening emails that appear to be from the ATO (and other entities for that matter). The ATO will never email you asking for personal details and you should not provide this information. If you receive an email embedded with a link do not click the link; simply delete the email.

Some quick tips to recognise and protect yourself from these scams:

  • Access the ATO online services by typing the address directly into your browser (www.ato.gov.au)
  • Always be suspicious of emails requesting personal information
  • Do not click on links or open attachments in suspicious emails
  • Do not provide personal information including bank details, PIN numbers or tax file numbers via email
  • Always be suspicious of poorly worded emails with spelling and grammatical errors (although this is not always the case with phishing emails)
  • Ensure you install and enable a firewall on your system
  • Use a trusted spam filtering product

For more information on scam emails visit ATO online security.