Warning from Australian Taxation Office - watch out for scammers!

Over the last few months, almost 10,000 scams were reported to ATO Call Centres around Australia. In December 2015 alone, 155 people gave scammers their personal information and nearly $120,000 has been paid to fraudsters.

Mr Jagjit Singh, a representative of ATO, and our regular Tax Talk presenter Source: SBS Punjabi

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is reminding Australians to stay alert, to protect themselves and their identity.

 

The most common scam reported to ATO is one where people are told they owe money to the tax Office and it must be paid immediately. They can be threatened with arrest or court proceedings. In many cases, the caller can become hostile. If a call isnt answered, the scammers often leave an urgent call back request.

 

In this month's Tax Talk, Community Relations Manager Jagjit Singh says -- if you or someone you know thinks they may have become victim to an ATO phone scam or if people are worried about providing their details over the phone, they should ask for the callers name and phone us on ATO's dedicated scam reporting number 1800 008 540.

To find out more information on how to report and protect yourself from scams go to ato.gov. au/ identity crime