Don’t respond to those phishy messages about your tax refund or tax debt!

Now that tax season is here we need you to be more viligant than ever before.

The ATO have indicated they had over 20,000 scam reports during the 2022-23 financial year. Don’t drop your guard and become one of those statistics.

Be on the look out for unsolicited phone calls, emails, text messages and social media messages. These scammers may offer fake tax refunds and direct you to fake myGov login pages. They may threaten or demand you take action immediately. They may have you believe they can cancel your TFN if you don’t act. They may demand payment of tax debts using unconventional means such as prepaid gift cards or other vouchers.

The ATO will never send you a link to login into their online services or ask you to provide personal information via text, email or social media.

We will never lodge a tax return without your approval and so you will always know when you are due to pay or receive a refund and you will know the amount to expect. The lodgement of your tax return triggers the refund payment to your bank account or the issuing of a tax bill. You won’t be required to login to your myGov account or take any further action to trigger your refund.

If you are not sure if something is legitimate, we encourage you to contact our office or the ATO direct. One moment of hesitation could save you from having your identity stolen or losing hundreds or even thousands of dollars.