With nearly 20 percent of tax payers now using the ATO’s e-tax eletronic tax return service, tax time has become a target for cyber criminals looking to steal personal information which may give them access to bank accounts or other financial institutions.
AVG Australia warns that in the upcoming monthsy we can expect scams in the form of fraudulent emails, texts and phone calls purporting to be from tax officials.
It’s important to remember that while the Australian Tax Office does use both email and SMS for service alerts, it will never request confidential information using either.
If you receive a suspect email from someone claiming to be from the ATO, do not click on any links within the message. You can report these messages by forwarding them to reportemailfraud@ato.gov.au.
More on this scam here – http://resources.avg.com.au/security_risks/e-tax-2011-scam-warning/
