Letter Explained
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Official email or scam?

Last updated: October 2026

An email in the name of an authority can be real or fake. That also scares many people. You do not have to believe everything at once. You can check calmly.

Sample letter

Finanzamt‑Service (Muster) <service@finanzamt-erstattung.example>
Sehr geehrter Kunde
15. November 2026Kein Aktenzeichen

Letzte Mahnung: Ihre Steuererstattung verfällt in 24 Stunden

wir haben Ihnen 389,40 Euro zu viel abgebucht. Damit Sie das Geld erhalten, bestätigen Sie jetzt Ihre Bankdaten über den folgenden Link.

Hinweis: Wenn Sie nicht innerhalb von 24 Stunden reagieren, verfällt Ihr Anspruch und es entstehen Gebühren.

Link: https://finanzamt-erstattung.example/jetzt-bestaetigen

Ihr Finanzamt‑Service

Made‑up sender, made‑up names. The letter often looks like this or similar.

What does the letter mean?

Typical signs of a scam: pressure (“in 24 hours”), a general greeting like “Dear customer”, a link to confirm bank or login details, and a sender address that only looks similar.

Real authorities do not ask for bank details, passwords or payments by link, voucher or message. Important decisions mostly come by post or in a citizen mailbox where you log in yourself.

This also applies to SMS, WhatsApp and phone calls. An authority does not threaten you with police or prison if you do not pay immediately.

Deadlines

  • A tight deadline in an email is no proof that it is real. Scammers set it on purpose so that you do not think.
  • If in doubt, look it up on the authority’s official website, which you type in yourself, or call the number given there.

What you can do

  1. Do not click anything, do not open an attachment and do not reply.
  2. Look at the sender address. Does it match the authority exactly? If not, it is probably fake.
  3. Open the authority’s website yourself, without the link from the email, and look in your mailbox there or ask there.
  4. Delete the email or report it, for example to the consumer advice centre (Verbraucherzentrale).
  5. If you have already clicked or entered data: change your passwords at once, call your bank and have your card or account blocked. If in doubt, report it to the police.

How Letter Explained helps you

The app’s scam check is always free: take a screenshot of the email, and the app tells you how you can recognise a scam and what to do next.

More about the app

This guide does not replace legal advice. Every letter is different: deadlines and amounts apply as they are written in your letter. If you have questions, an advice centre can help.

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