Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Deputy Chair Delia Rickard estimates around $2 million has been shelled out so far this year by unwitting victims to scammers claiming to be from the ATO.
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"That's around 40,000 people," she said. "And that is only the people who are reporting the calls.”
The ATO scam – where some one calls claiming to be from the ATO and that you owe them money – usually has a huge spike in scammer calls at the end of the tax year.
The Scamwatch website records there was a fourfold increase in the money lost in the ATO scam, known as upfront and advanced fee fraud, at the end of this financial year.
The 2017 figures for June, show consumers lost nearly $1.4 million ($1,399,334) in fraud scams, which is almost four times the 2017 monthly average the scammers are bagging in cash. Last month (August) innocent tax payers were conned into giving $283,213 over to fraudsters – which has been around the usual 2017 monthly average.
The ATO makes thousands of outbound calls to taxpayers each week, but there are key differences between a call from a scammer and a legitimate call from the ATO.
The ATO will not:
- be abusive or offensive
- threaten you with immediate arrest
- ask you to transfer money into an account with a BSB that is not 092009 or 093003
- request payment via unusual methods such as iTunes gift cards or other prepaid cards
- request personal security information such as your TFN or your bank details via email or SMS or social media sites
- ask you for money up front in order to receive a refund or other payment
- direct you to download files from the internet.
The ATO will:
- provide you with a range of options for paying debts, which are all set out on ato.gov.au/howtopay
- contact you by phone
- if you are in doubt about the authenticity of a call claiming to be from the ATO, you can the ATO 1800 008 540 to verify
- you will generally be aware of any debt before it is due for payment, but you can check through your myGov account, your tax agent or by calling the ATO
- send emails and SMS asking to you to take specific action such as: provide additional information required to process a BAS or tax return lodge
- provide additional information required regarding an application that's been made
- verify changes to an account
- send notifications/reminders via SMS or email
- send promotional and informational SMS and emails.