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Scam data

See the latest data on ATO impersonation scams.

Last updated 15 May 2026

Latest scam data

April update

In April 2026, we received 1,246 reports of ATO impersonation scams, which is a 15% decrease from March.

There were no reports of payments made to scammers.

Find out how to protect your personal information and verify or report an ATO scam.

For legitimate ways to pay your tax debt, see How to pay.

Scam channel data

The following table provides a breakdown of scams reported to the ATO by channel used. The social media category includes scams that occur through platforms like Facebook, X, LinkedIn and WhatsApp.

The 'Other' category includes less common scam types such as physical letters and face-to-face approaches. Historically, this channel accounts for less than 0.1% of scam reports made to the ATO.

Table 1: Scam channel data – Rolling 12 months

Month

Email

SMS

Phone

Social media

Other

April 2026

98.5%

0.4%

1.0%

0.1%

0.0%

March 2026

96.7%

2.3%

1.0%

0.0%

0.0%

February 2026

97.0%

0.6%

2.3%

0.1%

0.0%

January 2026

97.9%

0.7%

1.1%

0.2%

0.1%

December 2025

97.1%

1.2%

1.5%

0.2%

0.0%

November 2025

97.5%

1.4%

0.9%

0.2%

0.0%

October 2025

98.1%

1.1%

0.7%

0.1%

0.0%

September 2025

97.7%

1.0%

1.2%

0.1%

0.0%

August 2025

97.7%

1.5%

0.7%

0.1%

0.0%

July 2025

95.8%

3.4%

0.7%

0.1%

0.0%

June 2025

97.9%

1.1%

0.9%

0.1%

0.0%

May 2025

93.9%

5.1%

0.9%

0.1%

0.0%

April 2025

96.5%

2.8%

0.5%

0.2%

0.0%

Table 2: Scam channel data for 2025–26 financial year (year-to-date)

Email

SMS

Phone

Social media

Other

97.2%

1.8%

0.9%

0.1%

0.0%

 

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