The Australian Taxation Office has entered the New Year with a warning that scammers are changing their game for 2019.
According to the ATO taxpayers need to be alert for scammers impersonating the ATO.
Assistant Taxation Commissioner, Karen Foat said scammers have been developing new ways to get taxpayers’ money and personal information over the summer break.
“We are seeing the emergence of a new scam, where scammers are using an ATO number to send fraudulent SMS messages to taxpayers asking them to click on a link and hand over their personal details in order to obtain a refund,” Ms Foat said.
She said the ATO received many reports in 2018 of scammers maliciously manipulating the calling line identification so the phone number that appeared was different from the number the call originated from.
“This is known as ‘spoofing’ and is a common technique used by scammers in an attempt to make their interactions with taxpayers appear legitimate,” Ms Foat said.
“The community should be aware that legitimate email domains and SMS origins can also be ‘spoofed’ by scammers.”
She said taxpayers should be wary of any phone call, text message, email or letter about a tax refund or debt, especially if they weren’t expecting it.
“The community plays an important role in stopping scammer activities by reporting them to our scam line,” Ms Foat said.
“Your reports help us to get an accurate picture of what is happening with the current scams, which ultimately helps protect the Australian community,” she said.
