The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have issued a warning of a new phishing scam: 'Tax Agent Report - Delayed Tax Returns' email which contains malware. Do not open this email as it is not from the ATO.
This week, the ATO became aware that the email address that they have been using since July 2012 to send out 'Tax Agent Report - Delayed Tax Returns' emails has been used in a scam.
The scam email appears to be from an @ato.gov.au email address and displays as being sent from:
If you have received any emails from this source:
- do not open the attachment
- delete the email immediately.
The ATO understands that this scam email has been sent out widely and some of tax agents, their clients and friends may have also received it.
The ATO have shut down the email address and are investigating the scam.
More information
For more information on how to stay safe online and about the current scam, refer to the Online security page on the ATO's website, which includes a scan of the email for your reference.