I got a text saying the ATO owes me a refund — is it real?

It lands mid-morning. A text message, 'ATO' or 'myGov' in the sender name, telling you a refund is waiting — just tap the link to claim it. It is tax time, you are genuinely expecting money back, and for a second the message looks exactly like the news you were hoping for. That half-second of hope is precisely what the message is engineered to exploit.

Why July is scam season

Impersonation scams are not evenly spread across the year — the ATO says they peak during tax time, and its own data shows why. In July 2025 alone, almost 7,500 ATO impersonation scams were reported. Even in a quieter month like May 2026 there were 1,386 reports, up 11% on April. The reason is simple: in July, millions of people are genuinely waiting on a refund, so a fake 'your refund is ready' message blends straight into a real expectation. The scammer isn't guessing that you want money back — at tax time, almost everyone does.

The one test that settles most of them: the link

Here is the single rule that decides the majority of cases. Since 2024, the ATO has removed all hyperlinks from its outbound unsolicited SMS. So the line is now black and white: if you receive a text claiming to be from the ATO or myGov and it contains a clickable link, it is a scam — no exceptions. The ATO will not text you a link to log in, and it will not text you a link to 'claim' a refund.

Phone calls have their own tell. Genuine calls from the ATO show as 'No Caller ID' — they do not display a phone number. A call that shows a mobile or landline number while claiming to be the ATO, or a recorded robotic voice threatening arrest or immediate payment, is not how the ATO operates.

What the ATO will never do

Beyond the link, a few hard rules never change. The ATO will never send an unsolicited message that directs you to a log-in page, never ask you to send personal identifying information by SMS or email, and never ask for your tax file number, bank details or myGov login credentials by email.

The lures come in three familiar shapes. One says your income has been 'recalculated' and you are owed compensation. One says a refund is ready and you just need to 'verify your details' to release it. The third runs the opposite way — a tax debt you must pay immediately or face consequences. All three funnel you to the same place: a counterfeit myGov page built to harvest your login and banking details.

The misconception that gets people caught

Being caught is rarely about being careless. It is about timing and polish. The fake pages are near-perfect copies of the real myGov, and they arrive at the exact moment a real refund is plausible. Two beliefs do most of the damage. The first is 'it had my name and some of my details, so it must be genuine' — scammers buy, breach and guess those details all the time; knowing your name proves nothing. The second is 'the link opened a page that looked like myGov, so I logged in' — a convincing look is the whole point of a fake page, not evidence that it is real.

The only habit that reliably protects you is this: never reach the ATO or myGov through a link someone sent you. If you want to check your account, type my.gov.au into the browser yourself, or open the official ATO app. A real message will still be there when you arrive under your own steam.

So the practical steps are ordinary. If a message or call is genuinely from the ATO, there will be a matching record in your ATO online services or the ATO app — check there first. If you are unsure whether contact is real, do not reply to it; phone the ATO's dedicated line on 1800 008 540 (8am–6pm AEST, Monday to Friday) to verify. Forward scam emails to ReportScams@ato.gov.au and then delete them — don't click, don't reply, and don't call any number printed in the message itself. And if you have already clicked, entered your details or paid, call 1800 008 540 as soon as you can; acting fast is what limits the damage.

None of this means a real refund isn't coming — for most people it is, but it arrives through myGov or your registered agent, never hidden inside a link in a text. This is general information current as at July 2026, not advice for your situation. If you lodge through a registered agent, your refund and any genuine ATO correspondence generally come through them — so whenever a message about your return looks even slightly off, the simplest and cheapest move is to ask us before you touch it. That peace of mind is part of what our individual tax return service is for.