Austria's Ministry of Finance warns of phishing emails using fake payment notices to pressure transfers to foreign accounts

Austria's Ministry of Finance has issued a warning about a rising number of fraudulent emails sent in its name to citizens and businesses, falsely claiming outstanding payments and attaching fake payment reminders designed to pressure recipients into transferring money to foreign bank accounts. The ministry stressed that these messages and attachments are forgeries, and that official communications are issued as digitally signed notices delivered by post or to the FinanzOnline Databox. It also noted that it never asks recipients to provide passwords, credit card details or account information, and advised recipients to delete such messages, not follow instructions, and not click links or open files. The warning also flags that scams can come via SMS, messenger services, phone calls, social media and fake websites, often impersonating the ministry or other Austrian tax administration bodies, and may reference themes such as tax refunds, threatened enforcement action, suspicious FinanzOnline logins, additional compliance checks or requests for information related to crypto assets; further scam alerts are available via Watchlist Internet and the ministry’s “Vorsicht Betrug!” guidance materials.