South Australia Police are urging members of the public to be wary of a continuing phone scam operating across Australia, where callers are pretending to be from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), according to SA Police.
The scam has been operating for some time, but continues to take advantage of people from a wide range of communities and walks of life.
Victims typically report that the caller has been aggressive in their approach and, in an attempt to force people to pay a fake tax debt over the phone, has threatened them with arrest if they don’t comply.
These are not calls from the ATO. If the person calling is rude, aggressive and threatening police or legal action – it’s not the ATO.
Recently police have become aware that some scammers have changed their payment methodology and requested payment though unusual methods such as Prepaid debit cards, iTunes cards or direct transfers to private bank accounts.
Police advise the public never to make any financial transfers unless they are certain of the legitimacy of the request.
Details on legitimate ATO payment methods can be found online at: https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Payments-to-ATO/How-to-pay/
If people receive a call from the ATO and are concerned about providing personal information over the phone, they should ask for the caller’s name and phone them back via the ATO on 1800 008 540. This number can also be used if people think they may have fallen victim to a phone scam.
Please talk to people in your family and community about this scam – particularly those who may be less tech savvy or who would be vulnerable to this type of threat.
Scam education is vital in community protection, with more information or examples of recent scams available at ScamWatch: http://www.scamwatch.gov.au/
If you believe you have fallen victim to a scam please report to your nearest police station or online to ACORN www.acorn.gov.au
Please note, the ATO also have an audio file regarding this subject: https://www.ato.gov.au/Media-centre/Video-and-audio-files/ATO-scam-warnings-for-radio/
