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Scam data

See the latest data on ATO impersonation scams.

Last updated 19 September 2025

Latest scam data

August update

In August 2025, we received 5,227 reports of ATO impersonation scams, which is a 30% decrease from July.

There were no reports of payments made to scammers.

Find out how to protect your personal information and verify or report a 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

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%

March 2025

98.5%

1.0%

0.4%

0.1%

0.0%

February 2025

97.9%

1.7%

0.4%

0.0%

0.0%

January 2025

90.9%

8.1%

0.9%

0.1%

0.0%

December 2024

90.4%

8.9%

0.6%

0.1%

0.0%

November 2024

91.8%

7.2%

0.8%

0.2%

0.0%

October 2024

77.5%

20.8%

1.3%

0.4%

0.0%

September 2024

82.5%

15.6%

1.2%

0.7%

0.0%

August 2024

76.7%

21.7%

1.3%

0.3%

0.0%

Table 2: Scam channel data for 2025–26 financial year.

Email

SMS

Phone

Social media

Other

96.6%

2.6%

0.7%

0.1%

0.0%

 

QC56423