With tax time here, Australians are being warned to be cautious of various tax specific scams.
Mark Gorrie, APAC managing director at Norton has shared his concerns of cybercriminals taking advantage of the stress and confusion tax time can bring for both individuals and businesses.
“There are certain times each year that pique cybercriminals’ interest and tax time is one of them,” he said.
“With the amount of personal and financial information that is being stored and shared at this time, coupled with the stress that comes with filing tax returns, it is the perfect storm for scammers to target Australians.”
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reported in their ‘Targeting Scams Report’ that Australians lost a record $3.1 billion to scams in 2022, which is an 80 per cent increase on total losses recorded in 2021.
“Australians lost more money to scams than ever before in 2022, but the true cost of scams is much more than a dollar figure as they also cause emotional distress to victims, their families and businesses,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
ACCC’s Scamwatch data shows that small and micro businesses lost $13.7 million to scams in 2022, a 95 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
Top tips for avoiding scams:
1. Stop – take your time before giving money or personal information.
2. Think – ask yourself if the message or call could be fake?
3. Protect – act quickly if something feels wrong. Contact your bank and report scams to Scamwatch (www.scamwatch.gov.au/)
Mr Gorrie shared that although tax time can be difficult to navigate, it was important to understand that ‘practising online security should never be sacrificed in exchange for convenience’ and Australians should educate themselves on the ‘warning signs’.
He has shared three examples of prevalent tax scams to look out for, plus ways to avoid them:
1. Tax-related identity theft.
This scam occurs when cybercriminals access a victim’s account, impersonate them, and fraudulently lodge refunds from the ATO using your stolen personal information, including your tax file number (TFN).
This can be dangerous, as in this instance, the cybercriminal who filed a return with your information may still have your data – leaving you vulnerable to other identity-related crimes.
How to avoid this scam:
Keep your tax file number safe. Shred any documents that contain personal information before you throw them away, and ensure that your online accounts containing sensitive information, like myGov, are protected with strong passwords and two factor authentication.
If you suspect your TFN and identity has been compromised, immediately report the incident to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Consider using a robust security software -this will help protect your personal devices and information, and act as a first line of defense against attempts by criminals to steal or compromise your personal information.
2. Be cautious of Australian Taxation Office (ATO) impersonation scams.
Cybercriminals will pose as ATO representatives to convince victims to provide their bank details, Tax File Number, or other personal information via SMS, email, or social media accounts.
Additionally, in January this year, the ATO issued a warning about scammers posing as ATO workers on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and other popular social media platforms.
These phony accounts prey on social media users who have made public comments addressing the ATO with a question or complaint.
The scammer sends their victim a direct message, offering to assist in resolving the issue. After gaining trust, the scammer attempts to obtain personal information.
How to avoid this scam:
● Look out for tell-tale signs of a scam. The ATO won’t use urgent threats, such as arrest, payment, or suspension of your TFN. If contacted via social media by a newly created unverified account with a small follower account, delete the message. The ATO only has official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn – legitimised with verification ticks and over 10 years of activity.
● If you receive a suspected scam email or SMS, do not click on any links, provide any payments, account log in information, or other personal information.
● Occasionally, the ATO will contact you by phone, email, SMS, and post. If you are not sure about the validity of any communication, the best thing to do is to call the ATO directly. You can obtain a phone number from their official website, or a previous letter you have received, and validate the request.
3. Dodgy tax preparers offering to complete your tax refund.
Scammers capitalising on the desire for maximum tax refunds will promise substantial returns and a speedier process, which can appear to be an enticing offer in an otherwise confusing and stressful time.
The fraudsters will ask for access to the myGov accounts of their victims and lodge tax returns through the ATO’s myTax web portal or take personal details and payment before disappearing.
How to avoid this scam:
● If someone approaches you claiming to be a tax preparer, you can check that they are registered on the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) by visiting their website to verify the legitimacy of their claims. (www.tpb.gov.au/registrations_search)
● Never share your myGov password with anyone. Sharing your information (such as your myGov password) with an unregistered practitioner puts your personal and financial affairs at risk.
● Enable two factor authentication on myGov. You can use either the myGov Code Generator app or receive a code by SMS when logging in. This will further protect you from unauthorised access to your myGov account.
