Yahoo Finance Warning over Centrelink ‘refund’ email
Services Australia has warned Centrelink recipients not to click on an email suggesting they are owed a refund.
Services Australia said scammers often created myGov refund scams telling you to open links or put your details into an online form.
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“The scam may tell you that you’re eligible for money. It may then ask you to submit an application electronically, by filling out a form and confirming it’s correct,” Services Australia said.
“It may tell you the form will be sent to myGov securely, and others can’t see your information. It will ask you to submit the form by selecting a link.”
However, Services Australia said it would never ask you to open a link or a file attached to an email.
“It may pretend to have important information that tells you your refund won’t be processed unless you confirm your identity,” Services Australia said.
“It may also threaten to cancel your account if one or more attempts are unsuccessful.
“If you get an email like this, don’t open any links, download attachments or respond.”
The only time Services Australia will ask you to open a link is if it’s:
on the Services Australia website
in your myGov Inbox, once you’ve signed in.
Services Australia added that it would also never ask people to reply to any emails.
What to do if you get this scam email
If you get this scam email, there are steps you can take to protect yourself and report it.
You should call or email the Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk straight away, if you’ve:
opened a link or downloaded a form from this email
replied to this email
put personal information into the web form or attachment
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