Opinion: Vigilance urged following uptick in tax-time scams with fake emails and false promises

Ongoing cost-of-living pressures mean many West Australians will be looking forward to receiving tax refunds, but the end of a financial year is also a time when scammers emerge with false promises of monetary windfalls.

In a sign scammers are once again ramping up their tax-time efforts, our WA ScamNet team has received reports of a phishing email claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office but is actually from a completely unrelated email address.

The fake email, which even comes with stolen Australian Government logos, promises a refund of several hundred dollars but only if the recipient sends across their personal and financial information in return.

The scammers would then likely use this information to commit identity theft and steal their money.

Unfortunately, this email is just one of many ways scammers target their potential victims, with more than 19,000 scam reports received by the ATO during the 2022-23 financial year alone.

Along with text messages and threatening phone calls, scammers are increasingly turning to social media.

Both the ATO and myGov have expressed concerns about fake social media accounts impersonating their organisations, staff and senior executives that ask users to send a direct message so they can make phony offers of help with taxes or fake refunds.

No matter how you’re contacted, the best way to stay safe from tax-time scammers is to ‘practice the pause’ on calls, emails and messages that come out of the blue and never send your personal or financial information to someone you don’t know or trust.

For social media messages, investigate the account that has messaged you — look for verified ticks showing the account is genuine, then check the follower numbers and recent activity for any red-flags.

On emails, click or hover over the sender’s name to find the full email address. If you receive a phone call, hang up and call back the organisation using contact details you have independently sourced.

Suspicious calls, emails or messages claiming to be from the ATO can be reported to ReportEmailFraud@ato.gov.au or myGov to reportascam@servicesAustralia.gov.au.

Anyone that believes they may have given personal information to a scammer should immediately contact IDCARE at idcare.org.

Steph Marsh is the senior regional officer for the Great Southern at the Department of Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety.