Amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s common to feel the urge to respond quickly to phone calls, emails, and texts without thinking. However, this daily rush can make us vulnerable to scams, especially when scammers use emotional triggers to lure us in.
To help protect your privacy and financial security, Curtin’s Digital & Technology Solutions has some advice highlighting what you can look out for to spot and report tax scams.
What to look for
SMS text phishing or “Smishing” is increasing in popularity. Suspicious text can be very simple, making them tricky to spot. However, there are some red flags you can look out for. The example below highlights the common red flags:
The red flags:
- Check the date – If a business such as myGov contacts you outside of normal business hours (Sunday) and you are not expecting it, it should raise suspicion.
- Check the number – Check the number from which the message was sent and compare it with the official organisation’s number on their webpage – for example, the myGov Helpdesk number is 132 307, not 0412 107 933.
- Check the context – Remember to be wary of calls, texts or emails that; request you to log in to ATO’s online services via a link; ask for your personal information, e.g. Tax File Number (TFN), Date Of Birth (DOB) or bank details; require payments to be made by iTunes cards, gift cards or Bitcoin; incorrectly spell or capitalise the name of the organisation i.e. MYGOV instead of myGov.
- Check the link – The link mygov-approval is illegitimate. The real myGov link is my.gov.au. If you are unsure, refrain from clicking the link. Instead, open a browser and search for the official website or their official number and call the organisation directly
Further information
If you would like assistance after reading this advisory, please contact Campus Technology at +61 8 9266 9000 (ext. #9000) or lodge a support request online.
If you would like to report an ATO scam please forward it to reportscams@ato.gov.au.
If you think you have been scammed, please follow the guides from the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC).
