The scammers playbook is open to Tax Time Scams

Awareness is the key to fighting tax time-related scams. Scammers have honed their craft to create extremely sophisticated phishing (malicious) emails, smishing texts (SMS phishing) and vishing (voice phishing) that look and sound like the real thing. Jacqueline Jayne, Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4 explains how you can avoid them.

There are literally 100s of previously successful tax time phishing scams from the scammer’s playbook. We see the same scams year on year and millions of dollars being stolen from hard-working Australians.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s latest Targeting Scams reportAustralians lost $851m to scams in 2020. The report went on to highlight that:

“In 2020, there were over 24,000 reports about government impersonation scams made to the ACCC, with losses of $1.9 million. Scammers often impersonate government agencies to seek a financial benefit or personally identifiable information from people. The most common government agencies impersonated in 2020 were the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Home Affairs and Services Australia.”

Below are some examples we all need to be aware of, advice for employers and employees, advice for tax professionals and some useful links.

The latest scams you need to look out for

Update your myGov Details

The ATO are receiving reports of a new email and SMS scam that asks people to update their myGov or myGovID details. Scammers pretend to be from the ‘myGov customer care team’ and send emails telling people they need to verify their identity by clicking on a link. If you open the link, you will be taken to a fake myGov website where you are asked to sign in with your myGov details.

Example above is from the ATO website

myGov will never send you a link in an email or SMS. They will only send you links within your myGov inbox within the myGov app.

Smishing (SMS Phishing)

This is a fake SMS. If you receive an SMS with a link to click or a number to call from myGov or the ATO don’t click on it. Instead, visit their official websites or call them directly.

sms scammers are targeting tax payers — Some examples of sms scams

Suspended Tax File Number (TFN) Scam – Vishing (voice phishing)

For the last few years at tax time, the ATO receives reports of calls where you hear an automated voice message claiming that your TFN (tax file number) has been suspended and that there is a legal case against your name. The scammers then ask you to press ‘1’ or you will be referred to the court and arrested. This is a scam. If you do press ‘1’ you will be put through to a real-life scammer who will tell you that your TFN has been suspended due to money laundering or fraudulent activity. Then, just to leverage the fear factor, you are asked to provide the last four digits of your TFN, address, date of birth, name of your bank account and the approximate amount of money in the account(s). If you are lucky, the scammer may transfer you to the fake police. They will tell you that a case has indeed been filed against you and you will be arrested if you don’t pay. If you receive this call hang up. The ATO will never send unsolicited pre-recorded messages to your phone or threaten you with immediate arrest.

Fake Tax Debt Scam – Vishing (voice phishing) and Smishing (SMS phishing)

This contact can come from a phone call or SMS where you are informed that you have a tax debt and that if you don’t pay it straight away you will be arrested. The scammers will demand payment via pre-paid gift cards or credit cards or even cryptocurrency (e.g., Bitcoin) and will be very persistent for you to pay them. If you receive this call hang up. The ATO will never call you about a tax debt. And it’s a big red flag if someone asks you to pay in this way.

Here are the official contact details for myGov and the ATO

https://www.my.gov.au

https://www.ato.gov.au or you can call them on 1800 008 540

You can also use the official myGov or ATO app, both of which are available on iOS and Android

Advice for Employers regarding scams and scammers

As a business owner, it is up to you to communicate to your people exactly what to expect from your HR or Payroll Department at tax time.
Provide clear details as to what they are to receive and warn them that there is a very high chance cybercriminals will be targeting them at tax time.
Step your people through relevant, engaging, and ongoing security awareness training and provide an opportunity for them to test out their knowledge with simulated phishing and other social engineering tests.
Share the tips below to your employees, customers, vendors and suppliers.

Advice for Employees

Ask your HR Department or Payroll when and how you will receive your Group Certificate.
Only deal with the ATO via an official channel such as the MyGov website https://my.gov.au/ or https://www.ato.gov.au
The ATO will never request personal details like bank account details via email, SMS or voice mail.
The ATO will never ask you to pay for anything with gift cards, credit cards or cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin).
The ATO will never call you demanding payment of anything.
The ATO will never visit you at home or your office demanding payment of anything.

Report any suspicious activity at: