Don’t fall for tax time phone scams
It’s tax time, and the Australian Taxation Office is warning people to be on the lookout for increasingly sophisticated scammers, many of whom are now imitating genuine ATO phone numbers to fool caller IDs.
Consumer Affairs Victoria has released an audio recording of one phone scam to warn potential victims. “As per our recent audit, we have identified incorrect sorted tax filings, and we regret to inform you that your account has been marked delinquent on account of tax avoidance,” the robotic voice reads. According to the ATO, 48,084 scams were reported between July and October last year. Already this year, the tax office has received more than 17,000 scam reports. Of these, 113 Australians handed over $1.5 million to scammers, while 2500 provided some sort of personal information such as tax file numbers.
However, avoiding these scams may just be easier thank you think. According to One Click Tax Director Nathan Kerr, the best way to avoid the scammers is simple:
The easiest way to avoid scammers calls is to lodge your tax return with One Click Tax this year. Then if you ever receive any calls or emails, all you need to do is direct them to us. That’ll put a quick stop to their attempts!”
In other words, yes, One Click Tax has your back!