The Government’s myGov website has been cloned by hackers in a sophisticated attempt to scam you of your personal and financial information.
The Government’s online security agency is warning all myGov users to exercise caution when making payments on the ‘cloned’ website, as they are a target for scammers wanting access to account details.
The phishing scam is one of the most sophisticated yet, whereby scammers have created an almost identical replica of the government site that looks to be from Medicare.
StaySmartOnline has issued a statement saying that scammers have made a fake Medicare email that asks recipients to update their Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) details so they don’t miss out on benefits and claims.
If recipients click the links on the email, they are redirected to a replica of the real myGov website.
Users are then prompted to enter login details and a secret security question and answer, before being transferred to a fake Medicare website.
“These emails and web pages feature myGov and Medicare design and branding, making them appear legitimate,” says the StaySmartOnline statement.
The statement issues the following instructions to help keep users safe from this phishing scam:
- Do not click on links in emails or text messages claiming to be from myGov or Medicare. myGov will never send you a text, email or attachment with hyperlinks or web addresses.
- Don’t open messages if you don’t know the sender, or if you’re not expecting them.
- Be suspicious of messages that aren’t addressed directly to you, or don’t use your correct name.
- Login to your official myGov account by typing the web address into your browser, to check your inbox for any legitimate emails from Medicare.
- You can also contact the organisation separately to check if they have sent the message.
If you think you’ve been scammed, contact Australia’s National Identity and Cyber Support Service, IDCare or use their free Cyber First Aid Kit, or report to the Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN).
Have you seen this fake myGov website or email? Are scammers becoming so sophisticated that trusting the internet is becoming increasingly difficult?
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