New scam impersonating government service
A warning has been issued about a new scam that seeks to lure Aussies into handing over their bank details by cloning the myGov website.
The warning was issued yesterday by authorities on the Stay Smart Online website.
The scammers are issuing an email that is designed to look as if it’s been sent from Medicare, asking the recipient to “please kindly update your Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) payments”.
If the link on the email is clicked, it takes the user to the clone site: mygovau.net.
The real site is mygov.au.
The government website links several services such as Medicare, Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office.
"If you input your login details you are directed to also enter your secret security question and answer, before you're taken to the fake Medicare website to input your bank account details," the Stay Safe Online warning states.
Dr Cassandra Cross, criminologist from the Queensland University of Technology, told the ABC that online safety is more crucial as scams become more sophisticated.
"They [cloned websites] look authentic, they look genuine. In this case the only difference is the URL," Dr Cross said.
Dr Cross said this scam was like phishing emails claiming to be from banks that ask recipients to login to their account from a fake URL.
"But they're using something a bit more timely and just a little bit different to catch people off guard and increase their chance that people will respond to it," she said.
"We've done a lot of awareness around not putting information into banking websites that you'd click on from a link, but people wouldn't necessarily associate that same message with myGov.
"This time of year we also see a lot around the Australian Tax Office, clinking on links to gain tax refunds."
Previous scam indicators such as spelling mistakes and poor grammar can no longer be relied upon.
"I don't think we can rely on those indicators as successfully now, because offenders have realised that people are looking for that and they've upped the ante, so to speak, so they've increased the level of sophistication that they put on these attacks."
How to make sure you are not clicking on a scam email
* It is recommended that if you receive a message from an organisation, never click on the links in emails or text messages.
* Login to your official myGov account by typing the correct URL into your browser, and then check your website inbox for any legitimate messages from Medicare.
* Always be suspicious of messages that aren’t addressed to you directly and if you are still unsure, contact the organisation separately.
Have you received this scam in your emails? Let us know in the comments below.