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Australian Tax Office spam scam uncovered

A phishing scam which claims to offer Australian citizens a tax refund has been uncovered, it has been reported.

Cybercriminals are relying on a "money for nothing" mentality from web users to successful scam them, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The paper claims that while the malicious email technique has been around for years, web users need to be wary not to fall victim to it and jeopardise their privacy and online security.

With a subject of "2008 - 2009 Recalculation of you tax refund", the email claims that the recipient is entitled to an extra few hundred dollars. All they have to do is fill out an attached form.

Industry expert Adam Turner wrote on the paper's blog: "We're all awake to phishing scams pretending to be from banks, but I reckon this one would certainly catch a few people.

"Banking scams are trying to guess which bank you deal with, but everyone deals with the ATO and everyone wants a generous tax return."

According to Apacs, phishing scams are becoming more sophisticated.

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