Overview

• Consumer groups and tax advisers report a fresh wave of emails posing as BZSt, Elster or local Finanzämter that steer recipients to phishing pages for bank data or document uploads.
• Telltale signs include impersonal salutations, dubious sender addresses such as [email protected], lengthy legalese with faux case numbers, and buttons linking to external portals.
• BZSt states payment demands come only by post, and official messages appear in the secure ELSTER inbox; recipients should delete suspicious emails without clicking links or opening attachments.
• Anyone who shared data or transferred money should immediately contact their bank and the police, then report the message to authorities via official channels such as the BZSt.
• Experts urge careful checks of tax assessments because an estimated one fifth contain errors and roughly two thirds of appeals succeed, with objections generally due within one month of receipt.