SayNoToScams Practise these

Scam types in Australia

myGov, ATO and Medicare scams

A refund you did not apply for is the most effective bait the government impersonators have, because it makes you the beneficiary. Nobody scrutinises good news as hard as bad news.

Real agencies do the opposite of these messages. They put correspondence in your myGov inbox rather than in a link, they never demand payment in gift cards or crypto, and no genuine refund expires in 24 hours. If you are unsure, close the message and log into myGov the way you always do — if it is real, it is waiting there.

Also called fake ATO text, myGov scam email, tax refund scam, Medicare scam call, energy rebate text, Services Australia scam

Practise these 3 messages I have already paid or replied

3 example messages, all scams. Every one is invented for practice, and each links to a page explaining exactly what gives it away.

Email Government impersonation

A scam. The ATO does not work this way, ever.

Subject
Action required: your $1,283.60 tax refund is on hold1
From
myGov <service@mygov-refunds.net2>

Dear Customer3,

Our records indicate you are entitled to a refund of $1,283.60 for the 2024–25 financial year. This amount could not be deposited because the bank details held on your file are incomplete.

To receive your refund, update your bank account details within 3 business days4 using the secure portal below.

Update my details

Australian Taxation Office — Department of Human Services5

The 5 signs

  1. A refund you never claimed
  2. Look after the @, not before it
  3. “Dear Customer”
  4. Bank details, by email, on a deadline
  5. Two agencies in one signature
Is the myGov “refund on hold” email a scam?

Phone call Government impersonation

A scam. The ATO does not work like this, and neither do the police.

Caller
“ATO investigations”
Number
+61 2 9018 4406
Screen
Incoming call · Government services1

CallerThis is the investigations unit at the Australian Taxation Office. There is a fraud case open in your name2.

A case? I haven’t had any letters.

CallerIt has gone past the letter stage. You need to pay a $600 security bond today3 or police will attend your home this afternoon4. Stay on the line while I take the payment5.

The 5 signs

  1. Caller ID means nothing
  2. A case you have never heard of
  3. An invented fee
  4. Police, this afternoon
  5. “Stay on the line”
Is the “ATO investigations unit” call a scam?

Text message Rebate scam

A scam. Real rebates arrive without you doing anything.

From
+61 488 302 7711
Received
Today 9:06 am

ENERGY RELIEF: You are eligible for a $250 electricity rebate2 under the national scheme. Confirm your bank details to receive payment3:energy-rebate-au.com/claim4

The 4 signs

  1. A personal mobile
  2. Money you did not apply for
  3. Bank details, to receive money
  4. energy-rebate-au.com is nobody
Is the “$250 energy rebate” text a scam?

Practise

Reading about it is not the same as catching it

The drill shows these messages without the answers, one at a time, and asks you to call it.

Start the mygov, ato and medicare scams set

The signs behind all of them

Eight signs, and what to say

Every message on this page relies on at least one of eight moves. One page, free to print.

Learn the eight signs