The Australian Tax Office has recently called out scam artists who have been cold calling Australian Tax payers, posing as ATO employees. The fraudsters demand immediate payment of non-existent tax debts and threaten tax payers with the execution of pending arrest warrants if payment isn’t made immediately.
The ATO warned that such scams are generally more common during tax time and offers the following advice for identifying and avoiding fraudulent callers posing as ATO employees:
- The ATO will never cold call you about a debt.
- You will always receive a letter notifying you of a tax debt in the first instance.
- The ATO will never threaten jail or arrest.
- If you’re concerned about the legitimacy of a call from the ATO, ask for the caller’s name and phone them back via the ATO’s switchboard on 13 28 69.