Scammers are now contacting people demanding immediate payment of a tax debt and doing the following:
- Spoofing (copying) ATO and tax agent’s phone numbers so the call appears to be legitimate
- Threatening arrest for non-payment
- Impersonating tax agents and ATO personnel
If you receive any call, text or message advising you have a tax debt please:
- Ring your tax accountant and speak to someone you know by name and voice
- Pop in to your accountant’s office and speak to someone face to face about the message
- Ring the ATO on 1800 008 540 to verify the call
PLEASE, BEFORE PAYING ANY MONEY TO ANYONE, VERIFY THE DEBT WITH EITHER YOUR TAX AGENT OR THE ATO. PLEASE NOTE, THE ATO WILL NEVER THREATEN YOU WITH AN ARREST WARRANT.
An example of a call received from a scammer which displayed our office’s phone number:
Please refer to the following sites for further details on these scams:
https://www.ato.gov.au/Media-centre/Media-releases/New-year,-new-scam/
