University of Tasmania, Australia

Phishing Scam Warning
Date/Time of Alert: 21 January 2010 – 9:00am

Dear Staff and Students,

Please be advised that ITS have received reports of spam currently circulating the University's email system, that purports to be from the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The messages ask recipients to complete an attached form (usually a PDF or htm document) in order to receive a tax refund. The message is a phishing scam and recipients are advised to delete it.

The form attached to the spam email contains fields for personal and private information, and a button to print the form. The 'print' button actually transmits the recipient's personal information to spammers.

Examples of the spam emails have been posted to the ATO website. All UTAS members are advised to use the following links to familiarise themselves with the messages:

http://www.ato.gov.au/onlineservices/content.asp?doc=/content/62347.htm

or

http://www.ato.gov.au/onlineservices/content.asp?doc=/content/62347.htm&page=4#P131_9800

IT Services advises all University members that any emails soliciting personal or financial details should be treated suspiciously. Similarly all emails promising a financial reward or similar incentive should be treated suspiciously, particularly if they are unsolicited.

Any member who has responded to this email already is advised to contact their financial institution for advice on mitigating the threat. The IT Service Desk can also be contacted on 03 6226 1818 for advice about the legitimacy of emails.