There has been a recent spike in the number of scammer cases in relation to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Scammers and malicious actors continually adapt their activities and use technological advancements to help them mimic the ATO’s interactions.
They have two main objectives, to get you to:
- pay money
- divulge personal information or credentials.
A scammer may contact you in numerous ways, including:
- by phone
- by email
- by text message
- using social media
- door-to-door
- through a job application
The most common tax scam has been identified as ‘robocalls‘, which are pre-recorded messages.
They obtain manipulated caller identification that displays an Australian phone number including legitimate ATO numbers despite the call coming from an overseas scammer.
They tend to use intimidation methods such as threatening immediate arrest for an unpaid tax debt.
If you receive a robocall, hang up and don’t call back.
Should you receive any suspicious content claiming to be from the ATO you
should not:
- click on any links
- open attachments
- respond
Instead, phone the ATO on 1800 008 540, 8.00am–6.00pm Monday to Friday to check its validity.
Also if you would like to keep informed about new scam alerts, you can subscribe to receive general email updates from the ATO. These updates will include the latest scam alerts.
If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact our team on 03 9708 8801 or email info@rvpartners.com.au
