Recently there have been emails sent out from what looks like the ATO, saying that you are likely to get a refund and to make sure you check your account details!
This is a scam! Scammers will try to impersonate people and other entities that you trust in order to gain access to your information. This could be as simple as your date of birth, or you bank details all the way up to your Tax File Number directly.
If you are unsure that an email or a text message is a scam there a couple of things you can do to figure it out.
- Investigate the email, make sure that the address is one that you have received from the ATO previously, does it have the usual boarders that that ATO will use on their emails, are there any spelling mistakes or weird grammatical issues? Double check if anything is out of place and if you’re still getting a weird feeling but everything looks correct, assume it’s a scam, if it’s a legitimate email you’ll be able to find out in your myGov account.
- Check your myGov account, the ATO is trying to have all their correspondence in one location – anything the ATO wishes to inform you of will be in here.
- Call the ATO’s ‘Verify or Report a Scam number’! The ATO has a dedicated number for you to report or check if this really is a scam or them trying to reach out, if you’d like to check with the ATO directly, please call 1800 008 540
- Check with your accountants, your accountants will most likely be able to investigate further and check records to see if this is a legitimate email and will be able to direct you on whether this is real or not.
Remember! It is better to assume that any email, text or call that feels off is a scam. Contact whoever is trying to contact you via the numbers you can find directly on their website or by physically visiting their office if that is an option.
Scammers will often try to get you to click links to input your information, they will use positive phrases to try and entice you to give over your details. They will try to tell you that you are going to get a refund and that they need your bank details to make sure it goes into the correct account. This is a similar tactic to when scammers try to tell you you’ve won a million dollars or a prince in a far-off country wishes to give you his fortune, this is the same principal just more subtle and elaborate.
What do I do if I learn this email is a scam?
Do not click on any links in an email unless you are 100% sure they are legitimate. If you are part of an organisation that has an IT department, let them know about this, so they can investigate. If you are not and this is an email to your personal address, delete the email so that you do not accidentally respond or click something you should not have.
What if it’s a phone call and I don’t know if it’s a scam?
Ask! Some companies do outsource and can feel like a scam even if they’re legitimate, so ask for alternate ways to pay them or update your details depending on what they’re asking. If they give you a VERY specific website page, do not use it, google the website and login with your usual details from there. Most companies asking for detail updates or chasing payments will have easy ways to update them.
What if I get a text saying that I owe my gym $300?
Look for extra communication. If someone is texting you it is mostly likely supplementary communication, entities will only text you if you’ve opted in or if they’ve tried to contact you another way as well. Look for emails, messages in their websites hubs or missed calls from the correct number. If there is no other communication, ignore the text or investigate further.
Now that I’ve dealt with the scam, what do I do?
Change your passwords. Make sure that you regularly update these, and if you’ve received a message from someone that handles particularly sensitive information – like the ATO, change your password.
Enable 2 factor authentication. This simply makes it harder for people to access your data.
Talk to your friends and family about it. If you, even casually, mention that you had a scam email come through, it makes them think about it- which can lead to others catching these scams before they get caught themselves. Or others will mention if they’ve had one too, which can lead to a better understanding of how to avoid being caught by them.
Report it. If what the scammers were trying to impersonate has somewhere you can report these scams, do so. It gives businesses and the government an idea of what’s happening so they can help battle it on their end as well.
Stay safe and investigate if you are unsure, scams are becoming more and more elaborate. Please pass this onto others you know would benefit this. Even a simple reminder can do wonders for helping people to avoid being caught in one of these scams.