Be aware of scams during tax time

To read the full story click on the TITLE above.

The ATO is warning people to be aware of dodgy tax schemes and scams designed to steal your personal details and money.
Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo said the ATO continually comes across sophisticated scams designed to trick people into giving away their personal details such as passwords, banking and credit card details.
“People should be wary of approaches from people they do not know who are seeking personal information, financial details or tax file number details,” Mr D’Ascenzo said.

Examples of scams

The ATO regularly identifies new scams. Some recent examples are below:

• A job aimed at international students is advertised in a newspaper. The students call a number in the advertisement and provide their tax file number and date of birth, and are told they will be contacted a few days before they are due to start work. The number is subsequently disconnected and their details used to lodge fraudulent tax returns.
• People claiming to be from the ATO call people advising they are entitled to a payment of approximately $3,600 as a bonus for paying their taxes on time. They are asked to provide their personal bank account details so the refund can be deposited. If the phone call is unanswered a message is left providing a return contact number and a reference code. When this number is called they are requested to make a payment to a third party bank account, usually for an amount between $150 and $190, to facilitate the refund which is never paid.
• People receive calls from people claiming to be from the ATO offering them a tax refund of around $3,000. They are told they need to make a money transfer to a specific charity of around $150 in order to receive their refund. The taxpayer is generally given a NSW phone number to contact the ‘ATO’ once they have completed the transfer. The scammers sometimes quote personal information such as the address and date of birth of the taxpayer during the conversation to show authenticity, and also often have several private contact numbers for the taxpayer.