Phishing E-Mails Remain Relevant in 2026

Private households in Germany are saving again, according to an article published by Deutsche Welle on Friday, 2January 2026. According to the article, Germans have more than €10 trillion in silent reserves in their savings accounts. The assets accumulated for feared times of crisis are thus greater than ever before.

It is hardly surprising that fraudsters are targeting the money of unsuspecting savers. A popular method is phishing emails, which specifically target data in order to misuse it. Recently, these emails often pretend to arrive from highly official sources, such as the Federal Central Tax Office. What is somewhat confusing is that these are mixed in with legitimate emails from tax authorities.

“The Saarland Ministry of Finance warns of fake emails requesting data entry and payment that are sent on behalf of the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt),” according to information available on the internet. But for many of those affected, this warning arrives too late. The promise of a tax refund is too tempting.

The sender, recipient, and reply address appear plausible at first glance. Only when you click on the sender's name does it become apparent that the address behind it is rather dubious. Older people in particular are often not trained to recognise phishing emails and run the risk of following the links contained therein. When they activate the supposed refund, something goes wrong and the money is gone.

Easier times will surely come again, but for as long as the Germans continue to save on cars, clothing, food, and even language lessons, sales revenues in the domestic economy will decline proportionally. And so all the bad news of recent months continues to have an impact, at least for those who rely on a thriving economy and the local market.

“Maybe things will start looking up again soon,” Friedrich Merz recently speculated in a TV interview. Anything is possible, but in order to bring about a turnaround by 2026, more encouraging news than just speculation will be needed.

Phishing messages in the original:

Phishing-E-Mail Typ 1: Mitteilung des Bundeszentralamts für Steuern

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

das Bundeszentralamt für Steuern (BZSt) informiert Sie hiermit, dass im Rahmen der automatisierten Einkommensteuerveranlagung gemäß den Vorgaben der §§ 36, 37 Einkommensteuergesetz (EStG) zu Ihren Gunsten eine Steuererstattung festgestellt wurde.

Um die Auszahlung Ihrer Erstattung schnellstmöglich abwickeln zu können, bitten wir Sie, das beigefügte Erstattungsformular vollständig und wahrheitsgemäß auszufüllen.

Bitte beachten Sie, dass das ausgefüllte Formular im Zeitraum vom 05.01.2026 bis spätestens 10.01.2026 bei uns eingehen muss, um eine zügige Auszahlung Ihrer Erstattung gewährleisten zu können.

Phishing-E-Mail Typ 2: Gute Nachrichten: Für das Veranlagungsjahr 2025 wurde eine Steuererstattung zu Ihren Gunsten festgestellt!

So erhalten Sie Ihre Erstattung schnell:

• Geben Sie im beigefügten Formular Ihre aktuellen Bankdaten an (IBAN, BIC, Kontoinhaber).
• Überprüfen Sie die Angaben sorgfältig – das verhindert Verzögerungen.
• Reichen Sie das Formular bitte bis spätestens 31. Januar 2026 ein.

Nach Prüfung Ihres Formulars erfolgt die Überweisung in der Regel innerhalb von 1–2 Werktagen.

I hope this message has helped to protect you from fraud. Let's stay alert.

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