They are at it again. And their methods are becoming worse and more threatening, and quite frankly …SCARY!
NOTE; The ATO will never:
- threaten you with immediate arrest
- ask you to pay money to receive a refund or payment from us
- ask you to pay a debt via iTunes vouchers, or pre-paid credit card or store gift cards
- ask you to provide personal information, such as your tax file number (TFN) or credit card number, via email or SMS
- ask you to pay money into a personal bank account
- direct you to download files from the internet, or open attachments in unsolicited emails.
Phone Scammers becoming sneakier:
From time to time the ATO may contact you by phone. But you should be wary of unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from the ATO. These may offer you a tax refund or tell you that you have a tax debt and threaten you with arrest.
We are now seeing these scams using the names and addresses of actual ATO officers and buildings. Be careful if you receive a phone call like this.
If you are in doubt about the authenticity of a call that you receive claiming to be from the ATO, you can call the ATO on 1800 008 540 to verify. Or call our Team at The A Firm on 07 5596 4604 (Nerang) or 07 3829 0792 (Redland Bay).
To find out more about current scams – see here https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/Identity-security/Verify-or-report-a-scam/