The ATO has identified impersonation tax time scams that use faked emails designed to steal your personal information and credentials this July.
A DocuSign email scam identified in October last year aims to steal your personal data. The document is named “Declaration and Final Release”, while the email subject line suggests an assessment or audit from the ATO.
The Review Document button leads to a fake myGov sign-in page that is positioned to steal your credentials, your personal identity, and your superannuation and tax refund.
The ATO has issued a warning about a second email scam that makes claims about a fake cryptocurrency portfolio. This is designed to get you to call a phone number so that you can be pressured further with threat of arrest or prosecution.
The scale of tax time scams
Data from the ACCC suggests Australians who fell victim to a scam in 2025 lost $2.18 billion collectively. In 2025, the highest month of losses was July, suggesting a big focus on tax time.
Scammers use stolen credentials for refund fraud, redirecting money, financial theft, and selling your personal info on to organised crime and other bad actors. That means the threat doesn’t stop at a single tax refund, but builds into large-scale identity theft.
How to spot a fake ATO message
The quickest and easiest way to see that a message is not really from the ATO is if it has a clickable sign-in link. The real ATO does not send links over SMS and will never ask for personal identifying information over SMS or email.
Legitimate communication is sent through ATO online services to your myGov account. If someone claiming to be from the ATO contacts you and tells you about a refund, a tax debt, or asks for sign-in information, it’s probably a scam.
The ATO will never:
- Send an unsolicited message with a link to a sign-in page
- Ask for personal identifying information over SMS or email
- Demand disclosure of assets like cryptocurrency over email
- Threaten arrest, prosecution, or other legal action over email or SMS
- Use social media to contact you about personal details or to request payment
If you get a scam message
If you’re unsure a communication or phone call is really from the ATO, you can phone them directly to check. To report suspicious contacts, send the information to [email protected]
Non-ATO scams should be reported to the Scamwatch report portal.
If you’ve already shared information or engaged with a scammer, don’t delay. Contact the ATO on 1800 008 540 as soon as possible.
Tools that can check a scam for you
Following the advice above is easy enough, but scams are becoming more and more sophisticated. If you need a second opinion on a convincing message, there are a few tools that can help you out.
McAfee Scam Detector
All core McAfee plans include McAfee Scam Detector. This tool scans texts, emails, and can detect AI-manipulated audio in video. McAfee claims its text scam detection reaches 99 percent accuracy.
The company has rolled out QR-code safety checks and link-free social network message scanning to make it easier to stay ahead of scammers and real-world threats.
Norton Genie
Norton Genie is a free standalone scam-checking app that uses AI to help identify suspicious communications. You can copy-paste text to it or send it a screenshot of a text, email, social media post, or a website and the app will check it over.
Norton’s Genie AI is available on its own for free, or as part of Norton 360’s Scam Protection suite with Safe SMS, Safe Web, and a scam assistant. The Pro tier with Safe Call and Safe Email is behind Norton 360 Advanced and Platinum tiers.
Trend Micro ScamCheck
Trend Micro’s ScamCheck subscription provides easy access to a second opinion on suspicious communications. ScamCheck is positioned to cover scams, video deepfakes, and other suspicious activity.
With a broad scope and years of expertise, Trend Micro offers a high level of protection and accurate identification of scam messages.
Staying safe online is more important than ever around tax time with the amount of scams going around. Keep a suspicious eye on any communications before you act.
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