Be Scam Proof!
With so many aspects of our lives now online there are many opportunities for hackers and fraudsters to try to steal our identity and money. They are increasingly targeting people with claims of bogus tax debts and threats of arrest or prison terms.
If you receive an email, phone call or SMS from the ATO, make sure that they are legitimate before acting on them.
If someone contacts you and requests/discusses any of the items below, then chances are they are a scammer:
• threaten you with immediate arrest, jail or deportation if action is not taken immediately
• you are asked to call back on a number outside normal business hours
• the message contains hyperlink for you to click and will redirect to another page
• requesting a fee in order for you to get a refund owed to you
• requesting payment of debt via iTunes, pre-paid VISA card or similar
Below it the ATO’s top tips on protecting yourself from scammers!
• Know your tax affairs – for your personal tax log into myGov or contact CrossCorp. For your business’ tax contact CrossCorp or you can call the ATO directly. The ATO have advised to call them on their dedicated scam reporting line 1800 008 540 to verify the communication. This line is open between 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday
• Protect your personal information – do not respond to the communication unless you have verified that they are legitimate
• Do not click on any hyperlink, download any attachments that came with the communication before verifying with the ATO
• Know the legitimate ways to make payments by visiting ATO’s website https://zurl.co/aaeI
As a client of CrossCorp, we have access to your ATO accounts and ATO correspondence and can verify if you have any ATO debts.
Be scam proof and don’t let yourself be a victim! Call CrossCorp if you have any doubts.
