Australian Taxation Office (ATO) Scam Alert: Fake Demands for Tax Payments

The ATO has noticed an increasing trend of scammers demanding tax payments through Bitcoin and ATMs.

The ATO’s advice is simple; it will never ask a person to make a payment into an ATM or via gift or pre-paid cards such as iTunes and Visa cards or ask for direct credit to be paid to a personal bank account.

Taxpayers who lodge through a registered tax agent generally have longer to pay their bill and will be advised by their tax agent if and when any tax payment is due.  However, the ATO warned that scammers have been known to attempt to impersonate tax agents too.

The golden rule – hang up if you don’t already know the person and ring us.

If you want to report the call, the ATO toll free scan line is 1800 888 540.

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