ATO Phone Call/Email Scam

By Positive Web Solutions | March 7, 2019

Beware about phone scams both landline and mobile phone, where people call you claiming that they are from ATO (Australian Taxation Office) asking for your personal details.

Some of the ways to spot a potential ATO scam call are:

  • refuse to allow you to speak with a trusted advisor or your regular tax agent
  • is aggressive and/or threatens that you will be arrested and sent to jail if you don’t pay
  • demand or asks for immediate payment, through unusual means such as bitcoin, pre-paid credit cards or gift cards or transfer money into an account with a BSB that is not held with the Reserve Bank of Australia
  • stay on the phone with you while you go to the bank, post office, or shops to make a payment.
  • ask for payment through unusual methods such as iTunes gift cards or other prepaid cards

The ATO provides a list of ways to identify a scam https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/Identity-security/Scam-alerts/

You can verify or report a scam to the actual ATO at https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/Identity-security/Verify-or-report-a-scam/, you can also directly call them on 1800 008 450 Monday to Friday (8:00 am to 6:00 pm AEST). You can also keep up to date about new scam alerts by subscribing to the ATO for direct email updates at https://www.ato.gov.au/Subscription.aspx

Also be aware that the ATO will never ask you for Gift Cards as payment.

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