Government warns market about tax scams

The Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones MP has issued a warning to consumers regarding a growing number of active scams purporting to be about tax refunds.

As such, the Albanese government is now urging Australians to be vigilant against scammers targeting their Australian Taxation Office (ATO) log-in details to commit tax fraud.

Speaking alongside Bill Shorten MP, the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Minister for Government Services, Jones highlighted that the Tax Office had received a large number of reports of scammers using fake myGov sites to steal myGov sign-in details, which could then be used to commit tax and refund fraud in other people’s names.

“These criminals will often use text message or email to lure people into clicking a link using phrases such as ‘You are due to receive an ATO Direct refund’ or ‘You have a new message in your myGov inbox – click here to view’,” he said.

“To be clear – the ATO or myGov will never send an email or text message with a link to sign in to myGov.”

Indeed, last year the ATO introduced new fraud controls to help protect Australians from online identity theft, including using myGovID to strengthen security during the sign‑in processes on myGov accounts, making it more difficult for criminals to gain access.

The government has also committed $223 million to the ATO‑led Serious Financial Crime Taskforce, as part of its continued commitment to crack down on fraud.

Jones said: “The Albanese Government is working hard to fight the scourge of scammers, but it’s important that Australians remain vigilant to the warning signs and report any suspicious activity.

“Scam losses are going down for the first time in years and almost halved in the last quarter of 2023.

“This is a direct result of the Government’s investment to crack down on scammers and make it harder for them to target Aussie consumers.”

Shorten added: “A very secure way to interact with myGov is via the myGov app. In the same way many of us use banking apps, most modern phones will allow you to sign in to myGov with fingerprint or face recognition, so you don’t need to use a user ID, password and an SMS code.

“With the number of scam websites increasing dramatically, everyone needs to be vigilant. Last year, Services Australia and partners responded to over 6,000 scams attempting to impersonate myGov.

“The Albanese Labor Government wants a safe and secure myGov, and the myGov app is fast, convenient and secure. You can also set up push notifications within the app to securely receive new messages and updates about myGov.”

The ATO refund scams came as the Tax Office undertakes a major debt collection push for small businesses.

According to the ATO, the amount of collectable debt outstanding following the COVID-19 hiatus now totals over $50 billion.

Around 65 per cent (or $39 billion) of all outstanding debt is from small businesses and 74 per cent of that relates to activity statements.

Rob Heferen, the Commissioner of Taxation, has revealed that nearly two-thirds of all collectable debt being chased by the Tax Office is from small businesses and that many are struggling to repay their debt following the end of the payment “holidays” that were brought in during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Related: Budget to include additional cost-of-living measures]