Scam myths

Think it’s easy to spot a scam? Think again!

At this time of year there’s lots of talk about tax scams. But do you know what to really look out for? This #taxtime2022, we’re taking out the guess work by busting some common tax scam myths to help you and your family stay safe.

Myth 1: Only older people fall for scams

It might surprise you to know that younger people are more likely to fall victim to tax scams than older people, especially those involving fake tax debts or threats about alleged fraud. In 2021 people aged 25 to 34 lost the most to tax scams, closely followed by those aged 18 to 24. People aged 55 and above were among those who reported the least losses to tax scams.

Tax scammers will target anyone, and anyone can get caught out.

This tax time we want Gen Z and Millennials to know they need to watch out for tax scams too. If you get a phone call saying it’s from the ATO and it doesn’t sound right, hang up. Check in with someone you trust like a friend or family member. Even better go to the ATO’s website where we have a listing of all the current ATO scams or call us on our dedicated scam hotline 1800 008 540. If you use a registered tax agent, they can also help verify it’s the ATO.

Myth 2: Scams are so easy to spot – you’d have to be dumb to fall for one!

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Scams these days aren’t always full of obvious typos and bad grammar. In fact, most scammers use official language to make themselves sound more legitimate.

Tech advancements mean scams – including tax and super scams – are much harder to identify. Since 1 July 2021, we’ve taken action against 595 websites impersonating the ATO or myGov. These sites were designed to steal personal identifying information.

A Queensland man recently fell victim to this scam after receiving an email claiming to be from the ATO. The email asked him to click on a link to myGov to provide his bank details for his tax refund to be processed. The man clicked the link, entering his myGov sign in details (including his password) and providing his full name, date of birth, bank account details and tax file number (TFN). When he didn’t receive his refund, he knew something wasn’t right, and contacted the ATO to make a report.

While we do send emails and SMS to clients to share general information or reminders, we’ll never:

• send you an SMS or email out of the blue asking you to send personal identifying information back to us
• send you links directing you to a log on page for an online service, such as myGov
• ask you to pay a fee in order to receive a refund.

Myth 3: Tax scams only happen at tax time

You might only think about your tax return at tax time, but scammers are brainstorming ways to access your personal details all year round. It’s important to always stay vigilant to potential scams and keep your personal and financial details safe.??

Right now, we’re seeing a lot of SMS and email scams leading to fake myGov sign in pages. We’ve already had more than 360 of these reported since the start of April. But we see different types of tax and super scams happening year-round, such as:

• phoning people about a fake tax debt, and threatening that they’ll be arrested if they don’t pay it straight away
• sending texts to people saying that they’re suspected of being involved in cryptocurrency tax evasion. If you receive this text, don’t click on the link.
• sending emails impersonating the ATO and asking for people to update their financial information so that their tax refund can be processed.

Some final takeaways:

• Protect your personal information like it’s your credit card.
• Never share your usernames or passwords with anyone, not even your tax agent.
• Be careful about clicking on links and attachments, even if a message seems to come from a legitimate source.
• Only sign in to myGov and other online services by searching the website yourself, not by clicking on a hyperlink.
• Keep up to date with ATO scam alerts published on our website.
• If you are ever unsure whether it’s really the ATO, do not engage or reply. Phone us on 1800?008?540 or a number sourced from our website to check if it’s legitimate.

#ATO #tax #scams #taxtime2022