Stay alert this Tax Time

26 June 2012

Media release 2012/21

Tax Commissioner Michael D'Ascenzo today reminded the community to stay alert and be aware of scams this Tax Time.

"The ATO tends to report higher incidences of scams at this time of the year," Mr D'Ascenzo said.

"With the end of financial year approaching and many people expecting refunds, scammers are using this opportunity to pretend to be from the ATO. It is important that the community stays vigilant as scammers are increasing their efforts to make scams appear more genuine and legitimate."

So far this year the ATO has received over 5,000 reports from the community about phishing e-mails using the ATO brand, and over 3,000 reports of attempted phone scams.

"Victims have reported that calls are received regardless of time and day of the week," Mr D'Ascenzo said.

"Be cautious of phone calls or emails suggesting you are due a refund or asking you to transfer money overseas. The ATO will never ask you to provide credit card details or copies of personal identification such as, drivers licence or passport in an email.

"Once scammers have your personal information they can steal your identity and commit fraud against you, with potentially serious consequences. They can lodge false tax returns in your name, transact using your credit card information or take out a loan in your name."

Anyone can be the victim of a scam. If a correspondence seems suspicious, too good to be true, asks you for personal details or cannot be verified through an official source, it is likely to be a scam and should be reported.

To find out more about how you can protect yourself from scams, view online security.

If you think you have been the victim of a scam, contact the ATO by calling 1800 060 062 (8.00am - 6.00pm, Monday to Friday). You can also report suspected email scams to the ATO by forwarding the email to report fraud email.