Did you just received a call pretending to be from the tax office and asking you to share your account details? Stay alert as this can be scam with a motive of tricking you into paying money or giving out any personal account information.

Scammers frequently pose as representatives of reputable financial organisations like the ATO or Australian Business Registry Services and often get in touch with tax payers via mail, phone, email or SMS. Being a responsible tax payer, never respond to any question they ask you regarding account details, ABN, return records, and more. If you think you are being scammed, don’t respond and call the respective office right away to confirm.

Some common ways by which scams are done:

• Phone scam
• Email scam
• SMS scam
• Social media scam

Got scammed? Here are some details that can help you identify as the ATO or any other government organisation will never do these:

• Asking you to log in to our online services by sending you a link in an email or text.
• Asking for your personal information on social media, such as your tax file number or bank account information.
• Not looking for the blue verified tick on Facebook and Twitter, as well as a large number of followers on LinkedIn, to make sure you’re interacting with verified ATO accounts.

Scammers utilise this technique to gather information about you. They may also demand payments through odd channels, like gift cards, crypto assets, or cardless cash, or threaten you with immediate arrest.

Understanding these red flags could prevent you and your company from falling victim to a fraud. If you think you have fallen victim to such a scam, report the matter to concerned authorities as soon as possible. For more information regarding scams and how to report them, feel free to talk to our tax accountants.