What do tax scams look like?
There’s more than one way to fake a tax bill. Here are the usual suspects:
The fake ATO debt scam.
Someone calls you, claims they’re from the ATO, and tells you that you owe thousands in unpaid tax. They might rattle off fake employee ID numbers, give you a bogus case number, and even threaten arrest if you don’t pay immediately. The goal? Scare you into handing over money fast – before you realise it’s a scam.
They often ask for weird payment methods like gift cards, cryptocurrency, or prepaid debit cards. Spoiler alert: the ATO does not want to be paid in iTunes vouchers.
The myGov rebate scam.
This one’s sneakier. You’ll get a text or email saying you’re eligible for a tax refund and need to log in via a link to claim it. The link looks like it leads to myGov, but it actually sends you to a fake website designed to steal your login details, banking info, or both.
If you take the bait, scammers can hijack your account and drain your funds faster than you can say ‘rebate’.
Cardless cash cons.
A scammer convinces you to generate a Cardless Cash withdrawal from your account – then asks for the authorisation code. Once they’ve got that, they’re off to the ATM to clean you out.