[Kevin. A.]

It is important to always check the senders email address. If the email address is not the same as one from a trusted source, and do not click on any links from any emails. Scammers will try to imitate legitimate email addresses. Look for any inconspicuous dots, hyphens, capital letters that can be used to separate an email address. Look for any other discrepancies that are different for a known and trusted source. You can always check if the email has come from a specific source by ringing them directly. They will be able to tell you if any emails have been sent to you. Treat all emails especially those with clickable links, treat these as scams until you can prove otherwise.
Stay safe, stay vigilant and never rush to answer an email.

 

[Jan A]

Those fake “myGov” emails arrive in my inbox at least once every couple of days, sometimes more often. As a former executive manager in the federal public service, I can assure you that no government department will send out an email telling you to open a link to get a message. Never! These fake emails do not have your name and address with other details (such as Tax File Number or Centrelink number) to identify you as the recipient. They are bulk scam emails. Take pleasure in deleting them immediately. If a government department wants to contact you, they will send a letter in the post with your name, address and identifying details. You can then check on it with the department concerned.

 

[VM53]

I did get this one just after 1 July, so thought it was about a new pension payment. I didn’t click on the link, but went into my MyGov account online, only to find there was no message. It really looked like a genuine email from MyGov. Thank goodness I didn’t use their link.

 

[Jan A]

Smart move, VM53. That’s what everyone should do. Check any incoming message through the official website. Remember: if it doesn’t have identifying information (name, address, TFN, etc) then it is a scam. If it is a text, delete it. If it is a generic email, delete it. In this case, paranoia pays!