ATO phishing scam dupes 200,000

A phishing scam in which users are asked to give credit card details in order to process faster tax refunds has been viewed some 200,000 times, according to a security expert.

The scam, first reported on iTnews, comes in the form of an e-mail titled "Tax Refund Online" and links to a URL that looks and feels like an ATO web page - complete with a functional version of the tax office's own toolbar and search engine at the top right of the page. 

Adam Biviano, security guru at Trend Micro has studied the scam and told iTnews that the scammers "left the door a little ajar", providing some vital clues as to how effective the e-mail scam was.

As seen below, Biviano reports that some 200,000 people hit the site in the four months to June - most of those coming around the start of June at the height of the scam.

Source: Trend Micro