There is currently an increasing number of emails being sent in the name of the federal government that do not come from the federal government and contain fraudulent intentions. 

Fraudsters misuse the logo of the German federal government in the email. The fact that she is not responsible for tax refunds immediately reveals this email to be a phishing attempt. The lack of a salutation by name, an arbitrary and inappropriate sender address and spelling errors are further clear indicators of fraud.

In a warning ( HERE ) about such emails, the Federal Central Tax Office also states that tax notices and payment requests never sent by email. The subject of the emails says, for example: “We tried to call you” or “Request a refund”. In the text you are informed that you can receive a “tax refund” by clicking on the inserted link. However, this actually opens a website where you have to enter personal data. What the criminals then do with it cannot be judged.

These are currently these and similar emails

Screenshot of the fake email from the German federal government
Screenshot of the fake email from the German federal government

Can also look like this:

Screenshot of the fake email from the German federal government
Screenshot of the fake email from the German federal government

Just a few days ago we reported on a false SMS from the Federal Ministry of Finance that led to a multi-bank trap. ( HERE ) This SMS was very similar to the current email:

Screenshot of the fake SMS from the Federal Ministry of Finance
Screenshot of the fake SMS from the Federal Ministry of Finance

The federal government or the Federal Central Tax Office in Germany writes about such emails:

  • Tax notices and payment requests are only sent by the BZSt by letter, never by email. Something different only applies if you have expressly agreed to be contacted by email.
  • Payments must, without exception, be made by bank transfer to a domestic Federal Treasury account.
  • The fakes are often written in poor German with spelling errors. Technical terms are often used incorrectly.
  • Real notifications always have the name and telephone number of the responsible processor.
  • The BZSt will never ask you to follow a link sent and fill out a form to pay a supposed tax debt.

Contact the BZSt

Since the BZSt has a strong interest in ensuring that no one is harmed by such fraudulent counterfeits, we ask you to contact the BZSt if you have the slightest suspicion. Help uncover such counterfeits and send suspicious emails and, if necessary, further information with your contact details to the BZSt. You will receive feedback on how best to behave.

Telephone: +49 (0)228 406 – 0
Fax: +49 (0)228 406 – 2661
E-mail: poststelle@bzst.bund.de
De-Mail: poststelle@bzst.de-mail.de
Postal address: Federal Central Office for Taxes, 53221 Bonn

Also read: Energy saving regulations: video with false information


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )