Scammers capitalize on Australia’s myID rebrand

In its continued push to clarify and implement digital identity, the Australian government has announced that the myGovID app is rebranding to just myID. The change is intended to clear up confusion, but has also created some, prompting more communication from the government to the public to be wary of phishing attacks.

While the passive change does not require any actions from myID’s 13 million-plus users, it does present a major opportunity for scammers looking to steal personal information. A notice says that emails, phone calls and text messages claiming to be from the ATO and asking users to set up a new myID or update account details are likely scams.

Per a section on scam alerts on the ATO’s website, “scammers are trying to trick the community into thinking they need to reconfirm their details via a link.” Scam emails or SMS messages include prompts like “as we say goodbye to myGovID and welcome myID, kindly reconfirm your identity.”

Clicking the link will direct users to a fraudulent myGov sign in page designed to steal personal information, which can be used in identity theft or other types of digital fraud.

A release from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) says the switch “aims to reduce the confusion between the myGovID app and myGov. The new name for the Australian Government’s Digital ID app reflects the community’s understanding of Digital ID and demonstrates how a whole-of-government ID provider can help protect Australians from identity theft and fraud.”

It comes as the result of an audit that found users were often confused by the interplay between myGov (the government digital services platform) and myGovID (a government digital ID app to facilitate access to the platform). It recommended merging the front-end service of myGovID and myGov into one app, or a complete rebrand of myGovID. The latter appears to have won the day.

The rebrand is estimated to have cost around AU$11.5 million (approximately US$7.7 million).

Article Topics

digital ID  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  myGovID  |  myID Australia