email · Practice receipt (genuine)

Is this receipt email from my doctor real?

Q: Is this receipt email from my doctor real?

Genuine — and worth noticing why it feels different. It refers to something that actually happened, on a date you can remember. The address is the practice’s own .com.au domain, not a lookalike. There is no link, no attachment, no form and no deadline — and it tells you plainly that nothing is owing. The only action offered is a phone number you can look up independently and confirm belongs to the practice. Money moving towards you, with nothing asked in return, is the opposite shape of a scam. Nothing to do. If you want to be certain, ring the practice on the number you find yourself rather than the one in the email. The two matching is your confirmation.

Genuine — and worth noticing why it feels different.

Below is the email itself, with every phrase that gives it away marked and numbered. There is nothing to find, and that is the lesson. It is invented for practice — the pattern comes from the public alert linked at the bottom.

Subject: Your visit on Tue 16 Sep
From: Kilburn Family Practice <accounts@kilburnfp.com.au>

Thanks for coming in on Tuesday.

Medicare has processed a rebate of $41.40 to the bank account you registered with us. Nothing is owing and no action is needed.

If you have a question about the visit, call us on 08 8344 1900.

Why it is genuine

It refers to something that actually happened, on a date you can remember. The address is the practice’s own .com.au domain, not a lookalike. There is no link, no attachment, no form and no deadline — and it tells you plainly that nothing is owing. The only action offered is a phone number you can look up independently and confirm belongs to the practice. Money moving towards you, with nothing asked in return, is the opposite shape of a scam.

What to do

Nothing to do. If you want to be certain, ring the practice on the number you find yourself rather than the one in the email. The two matching is your confirmation.

Pattern drawn from Scamwatch: how to spot a scam

Practise

Reading it is not the same as catching it

You have just been told the answer. The drill shows this message without it, one at a time, and asks you to call it.

Start the email scams set

If it has already happened

Not your fault, and not too late

Ring your bank, report it, and tell one person you trust. The first hour matters most.

What to do now