PSA: Beware of People Impersonating The ATO Calling and Demanding Money

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Australian Taxation Office

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  [Deactivated] on 24/10/2018 - 17:44

  +13

  NO GOVT AUTHORITY WILL ASK YOU TO PAY ANYTHING IN BITCOIN

  You didn't warn me about payment request in iTunes giftcard! I feel you should be responsible for my loss.

  Coincidentally, I will also accept iTunes giftcards.

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  Sage on 24/10/2018 - 18:12

  +2

  I used to work at the ATO. It was awful when we had to make outbound calls because everyone thinks we're scamming and becomes rude.
  What's with the post here repeating "Scammers can spoof phone numbers. Do not trust a caller just because their Caller ID checks out. The standard procedure is to ask for a reference number, HANG UP, then call a publicly available number." twice?

  Most of the scammers don't bother spoof the number anyway, and they leave a voice message or have an automated message play when the tax payer answers.
  They say to call a number not owned by the ATO and then they make accusations to get the victim to pay over the phone.

  If it's actually the ATO, you may have to wait a very long time when calling them back.
  Everything they want to tell you and ask you is normally done through paper mail or MyGov messages. They ring as a last resort.

  OP, if you're going to say "call a publicly available number" we might as well say the real number here. It's 13 28 66.
  There are other numbers such as 1800 numbers that are also completely legitimate.

  • 

    HighAndDry on 24/10/2018 - 18:18

    -3

    (No, you didn't just have a fit - the scammers in this case first spoofed the ATO's number, then spoofed the victim's Tax Agent's number).

    Victim was called by scammer spoofing the ATO, then called by scammer's other scammer friend spoofing his tax agent's number. Double spoofed, so double the warning.

    I think just putting a number here defeats the purpose (even though it's the right number - the point is that people shouldn't trust numbers randomly told to them, they should verify with ATO's website first). Here's the ATO's number from their website:

    https://www.ato.gov.au/About-ATO/Contact-us/Phone-us/

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  chumlee on 24/10/2018 - 18:29

  +8

  Trick is to structure your financial affairs so you avoid paying any tax and therefore you know it's a scam when the ATO calls

  • 

    HighAndDry on 24/10/2018 - 18:43

    -3

    If you've structured your finances so that you pay zero tax, I'm going to guess you'll get a lot of actual calls from the ATO haha….

    (but then you'd also just palm them off to your financial adviser so…)

    • 

      chumlee on 24/10/2018 - 18:44

      My phone number will be Bermuda area code though

      • 

        HighAndDry on 24/10/2018 - 18:45

        Fire your accountant - all the cool guys have British Virgin Islands area codes now.

        • 

          chumlee on 24/10/2018 - 18:46

          @HighAndDry: How many virgins does my money buy??

          • 

            HighAndDry on 24/10/2018 - 18:47

            @chumlee: What colour?

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 24/10/2018 - 21:16

      Can't pay income tax if you don't have an income

  • 

    Diji1 on 24/10/2018 - 22:24

    Good luck avoiding GST.

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  therooftop on 24/10/2018 - 18:54

  +2

  I've actually been waiting for these scammers to call me so I can waste a bit of their time (even plugged in a home phone unit for this but no luck so far)

  If you've got a bit of time to burn search IRS(the American version of ATO) scams on youtube. Pretty much the same call centre in India, using the same script and scare tactics. A lot of those videos are very funny/entertaining to watch. The scammers sometimes even fess up that they are scammers.

  • 

    steven6 on 25/10/2018 - 20:20

    @therooftop If you're looking to call some ATO scammers I use this site https://www.reverseaustralia.com/lookup/0390136469/ to find their numbers. They normally block silent numbers, so you will have to use a throwaway number to get through. They only answer during business hours. You only get one shot for each number you have as they will block it once they know you're baiting them.

  • 

    orangetrain on 26/10/2018 - 08:48

    Look at spam folder. Enter your phone number to all of them.

    Also, sign up an account on as many shopper websites. Eventually a database gets exposed or sold.

    You'll get calls within 3 months

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  steven6 on 24/10/2018 - 21:05

  Most ATO scammers use a VoIP number so they can receive a call back from their victims(But the scammers generally block silent numbers calling, so you will have to display a throwaway number to call them if you want to bait them). You can search the ACMA website to find the wholesaler who owns a VoIP number. I find in most cases it's Symbio Networks and they won't do anything to stop the scammers.

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  Flanders on 24/10/2018 - 22:15

  Was it Rhi Rhi?

  Better have her money!
  Better have her money!
  Pay her what you owe
  Better have that beaches money Bxtch!

  • 

    Diji1 on 24/10/2018 - 22:25

    +1

    Iggy Azalea is so talented!

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  shaybisc on 25/10/2018 - 08:13

  +1

  I kinda miss my scammers since I got rid of the landline- used to like winding them up if I was bored.

  Pay in Bitcoin- that's a classic- one for the dummies.