Warning issued over sophisticated government scam

MailGuard is warning MyGov customers about a new scam doing the rounds this Easter.

The scam is one of the most sophisticated yet and tricks people into handing over their credit card details by directing them to a fake version of the site.

MailGuard said scammers “have set up a near-perfect clone of the myGov website in order to dupe victims into sharing their password and credit card details”.

Victims will receive a phishing email purporting to be from the Australian Government website myGov.com.au, which directs people to the fake website to update their details.

Once people have updated their credit card details – and consequently given them access to the card – the scammers direct victims to the real myGov website to make the whole transaction look even more credible.

The phishing email will come from [email protected], which has no affiliation with the real government agency. MailGuard says the scam originated in the Czech Republic.

“You are advised not to click any links in the scam email as these direct you to forms designed to capture personally identifying information such as photocopies of passports and drivers’ licences, as well as your bank account details,” said MailGuard CEO Craig McDonald.

“These fake forms and pages feature myGov design and branding, making them appear legitimate. They may even provide you with a one-time PIN as part of the process of capturing your account details.”

The image below shows the fake version of the website, which is a near-clone of the real thing.

People are urged to share the message and warn others of the scam due to the sophistication of the email and fake website.

Have you ever received a scam email? Have you ever fallen victim to a scam?