Stay alert for tax time scams

The Federal Government has warned of scammers targeting Australians ahead of tax time 2023. The number of scam reports received to date has topped 19,843 and impersonation scams are becoming increasingly commonplace. These scams typically consist of unsolicited contact through SMS, email, or on social media offering refunds or help to solve tax issues. The ATO recommends not engaging with any unsolicited contact, ending any conversations as soon as possible and independently looking up the ATO’s number to initiate contact in order to verify any communication is genuine.

In a sign of just how widespread scams have become, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones has issued a warning for Australians to beware of scams that are circulating in the lead-up to tax time 2023. According to the government, the number of scam reports received to date for the 2022–2023 income year is already at 19,843 and is projected to exceed the 20,000 scams reported in the 2021–2022 income year.

Tax time scams typically involve the impersonation of the ATO to obtain personal information or solicit unlawful payment. The common tricks tax scammers are using recently include:

• posing as the ATO on social media and offering to help individuals with tax and super questions, which require the individuals to hand over personal information such as tax file numbers, dates of birth, names, addresses etc; 
• luring unsuspecting individuals with an offer of a fake tax refund in return for the provision of personal information; 
• initiating conversations via phone, social media private messages, email and SMS, attempting to keep the individual engaged for as long as possible through various means including threats and intimidation, offers to help and so on, to either collect personal information or solicit payment.

The ATO now has a dedicated team that monitors queries and assists taxpayers who have fallen victim to scammers. While the ATO will sometimes contact taxpayers by phone, email, SMS or post, it will never send out links to login to ATO online services or ask taxpayers to send personal information via any means. To be extra cautious, the ATO recommends that if taxpayers are unsure whether a communication they’ve received is genuinely from the ATO, they should not reply and not call any number shown in the caller ID, phone log, SMS or voicemail. Rather, they should look up and use the ATO phone number or other contact details on the official ATO website, www.ato.gov.au/.   

Many scammers will use spoofing technology to show a real ATO or an Australian phone number in the caller ID or call log. The ATO notes that its genuine calls will not show a number, but will be shown as No Caller ID. In addition, as some scammers may also attempt to get the individual into a conference call with a third party – for example, fake tax or law enforcement officers – the ATO states that it will never pull any individual into a conference call with a third party, not even the individual’s tax agent or law enforcement. 

In terms of SMS and email communications, the ATO says it will never send an unsolicited message asking individuals to return personal identifying information through these channels. It also does not send links or attachments for taxpayers to open or download. If the communication contains either a link or attachment and is purportedly from the ATO, it is highly likely to be a scam. 

Individuals who have fallen victim to an ATO scam are encouraged to contact their bank or financial institution if financial information or money was provided to the scammer, make an official report to local police, and report the scam through either the ATO’s phone hotline or specific scams email address.

Source: www.scamwatch.gov.au 
www.ato.gov.au/general/online-services/identity-security-and-scams/verify-or-report-a-scam/ 
https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/stephen-jones-2022/media-releases/tax-scammers-are-targeting-you-tax-time