Mail from the Federal Central Tax Office: that's the reason

If you have just received an email from the Federal Central Tax Office in your email account, you should handle it with extreme caution. Especially if it announces a larger tax refund. Here you can find out what's behind it.

Federal Central Tax Office: Email with tax refund

Fraudsters are currently trying to obtain fake emails on behalf of the Federal Central Tax Office from the private data and account details of many Internet users:

• Criminals send emails that are said to come from the tax office, ELSTAR or the Federal Central Tax Office. In the emails they announce substantial tax repayments.
• To receive the money, all you have to do is click on a link and then complete the refund request. Even if the temptation is high with a high three- or four-digit amount, you should under no circumstances do so.
• In the alleged application for tax reimbursement, numerous very confidential data are requested, which in no way should be in the hands of fraudsters.
• The tax authorities are already warning of the criminal activity. In addition, the tax authorities expressly state that they generally do not request sensitive data such as tax numbers or account details via email.

Receive an email from the Federal Central Tax Office - how to react?

• If you have received such an email, it is most likely dangerous spam. The tax offices send tax refunds only by post together with the tax assessment. If in doubt, you should check with your tax office before opening the appendix.
• As the Consumer Advice Center North Rhine-Westphalia announced, these fraud emails have so far been particularly noticeable in North Rhine-Westphalia. It expressly warns against opening the attachment. Here the risk is very high that it is spy software or a malware.

Emails from government institutions: rip-off cases already known

Pretending to be a state institution to get private data - this trick is not new. Fraudsters pretended to be a job agency a few months ago. We explain the whole case in the video.

If you have already opened the attachment, you should read on. In the next article, you will learn how to check your PC for malware.