Personal fraud and tax scams |
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The ATO reports that scammers take almost a billion dollars from more than 800,000 Australians every year. Scams involving tax are common, and victims will often find that their identities have been misused or sold to commit fraud.
Tax scam example Patrick received an email claiming to be from the ATO, stating that his income tax refund had been ‘recalculated’ and that he was entitled to an additional $250. All he had to do was click on a link in the email, provide some details, and he could expect the extra money in a few days. He clicked on the link in the email, which took him to a website that for all purposes looked authentic. All he had to do was complete the form online, then click the print button and send the printed form to the ATO in When he clicked the ‘print’ button, not only did he print out the ‘claim form’ but he also unknowingly sent his full identity and credit card details electronically to an organised criminal syndicate in the |
