MSS Tax Service

Protect Yourself Against Scammers

Scams trick you into paying money or giving out your personal information. Scammers often pretend to be from trusted organisations like the ATO.

On this page

Verify a scam
Report a scam
Warning signs of phone, email and SMS tax scams

Verify a scam

We will sometimes contact you by phone, email, SMS and post. If you’re not sure whether it’s really us, do not reply. You should phone us on 1300 (677829) to check.

Report a scam

If you have been affected by an ATO impersonation scam, you can report it to us.

This information contains instructions on how to report a scam:

Phone scams
Email and SMS scams

Information about scams and how to report a scam is also available in Easy Read format and other languages.

Phone scams

If you received a scam phone call and you did pay money or provide sensitive personal identifying information to the scammer, phone us on 1300 (677829) to report it.

You should also:

Make an official report to your local police
Contact your bank or financial institution if you provided your credit card or bank details to the scammer
Contact the bank you made the payment to and lodge a fraud report.

If you received a scam phone call and did not pay money or provide sensitive personal identifying information to the scammer, you should still report the scam to us. You can use our online Report a scam form.

Email and SMS scams

If you received a scam email or SMS, do not click on any links, open any attachments or download any files.

If you did pay money or provide sensitive personal identifying information to the scammer, phone us on 1300 (677829) to report it.

You should also:

Make an official report to your local police
Contact your bank or financial institution if you provided your credit card or bank details to the scammer
Contact the bank you made the payment to and lodge a fraud report.

If you did not pay money or provide sensitive personal identifying information to the scammer, you should still report the scam to us. You can either:

Delete the email or SMS after reporting it to us.

You can report other types of scams to ScamwatchExternal Link, or contact the Australian Cyber Security Centre External Link to report cybercrime.

Warning signs of phone, email and SMS tax scams

Scammers are constantly looking for new ways to trick people.

There are some common warning signs in the information below to help you check if you have been contacted by a scammer or by us:

Phone scams
Emails and SMS scams

You can also find out about current scams we’re aware of.

Phone scams

Some of the common features of phone scams are described in the table below. Use this information to help you identify if a phone call claiming to be from us is a scam.

What scammers may do	Our approach
Scammers may threaten you with immediate arrest. They do this to make you afraid or panic and stop you thinking clearly.	We will never threaten you with immediate arrest.
Scammers may: Demand you pay right now and keep you on the phone line until you pay Say that if you hang up there will be a warrant for your arrest. They use these threats to make you pay by the end of the call.	We will never demand you stay on the line until a payment is made.
Scammers may: send unsolicited pre-recorded messages (robocalls) to your phone leave messages on your voicemail asking you to call back.	We will never send unsolicited pre-recorded messages to your phone. Only phone us on a number you have looked up yourself. Do not call the number given to you in the call or voicemail.
Scammers may use technology to show real ATO or Australian phone numbers in the caller ID or call log.	Calls from the ATO do not show a number. They will show as No Caller ID. Only phone us on a number you have looked up yourself. Do not call the number shown in caller ID or in your call log.
Scammers may tell you that your tax file number (TFN) has been cancelled or suspended due to money laundering or other criminal activity. They will say you either need to: pay money to avoid being arrested or sent to court transfer your money to a safe bank account to protect your TFN from future misuse.	We do not cancel TFNs. Always check that you’re dealing with a legitimate agency before providing any information. If you’re not sure, hang up. You can phone us to check. Only call us on a number you have looked up yourself. Do not call the number given to you in the call or voicemail.
Scammers may refuse to allow you to speak with a trusted adviser or your regular tax agent. They do this to prevent anyone from telling you that it’s a scam and stopping you from paying.	We will never prevent you from discussing your tax affairs with your trusted adviser or agent.
Scammers may attempt to make a conference call with a fake tax professional, law enforcement officer or another official. They do this to make the call seem real and increase your fear, but the second person will be another scammer.	We will never make a conference call with a third party, such as your tax agent or law enforcement. Know your tax affairs – you can log into ATO online services through myGov to check your tax affairs at any time. You can also contact your tax agent or the ATO.
Scammers may request payment by iTunes, Google Play, STEAM or other vouchers. These vouchers can be easily purchased and sold globally. They are an untraceable form of currency (money).	We will never request payment of a debt via iTunes, Google Play, STEAM or other vouchers. You can find out about legitimate ways to make payments to the ATO.
Scammers may request payment by JB hi-fi, Myer, Woolworths or other retail gift cards. These gift cards can be easily purchased and are an untraceable form of currency (money).	We will never request payment of a debt via JB hi-fi, Myer, Woolworths or other retail gift cards. You can find out about legitimate ways to make payments to the ATO.
Scammers may request payment by Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, either directly or deposited into an ATM. This currency is difficult to trace and offers more anonymity.	We do not accept payment in cryptocurrency. You can find out about legitimate ways to make payments to the ATO.
Scammers may request that you pay money into a personal bank account. This could be an Australian-based account established by scammers. The money moves accounts until it is sent offshore.	We will only ever ask you to pay a tax debt into a bank account held by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Check online to see that the Bank-State-Branch (BSB) number is one for the Reserve Bank of Australia. You can find out about legitimate ways to make payments to the ATO.
Scammers may request that you pay via cardless cash ATM withdrawals.	We will never ask you to pay a tax debt via a cardless cash ATM withdrawal. You can find out about legitimate ways to make payments to the ATO.
Scammers may request you pay money via offshore wire transfer (where the scammers are located).	We will not request payment of a debt via offshore wire transfer. You can find out about legitimate ways to make payments to the ATO.
Scammers may request that you pay money via a cash delivery either through a courier service or made in person at a pre-determined public location.	We will never ask you to pay via a cash delivery. You can find out about legitimate ways to make payments to the ATO.
Scammers may request that you pay a fee to receive a tax refund. They will usually ask you to pay the fee using your credit card and then steal your credit card details.	We will never ask you to pay a fee to receive a refund. Do not provide your credit card details to anyone unless you trust the person you’re dealing with and they genuinely require these details.
Scammers may offer payment arrangements if you can’t pay the full amount. This is done to increase instances of payments and the total amount paid.	Before you enter a payment arrangement, contact us or your tax agent using a number you have looked up yourself.

What scammers may do

Our approach

Scammers may threaten you with immediate arrest. They do this to make you afraid or panic and stop you thinking clearly.

We will never threaten you with immediate arrest.

Scammers may:

Demand you pay right now and keep you on the phone line until you pay
Say that if you hang up there will be a warrant for your arrest.

They use these threats to make you pay by the end of the call.

We will never demand you stay on the line until a payment is made.

Scammers may:

send unsolicited pre-recorded messages (robocalls) to your phone
leave messages on your voicemail asking you to call back.

We will never send unsolicited pre-recorded messages to your phone.

Only phone us on a number you have looked up yourself. Do not call the number given to you in the call or voicemail.

Scammers may use technology to show real ATO or Australian phone numbers in the caller ID or call log.

Calls from the ATO do not show a number. They will show as No Caller ID.

Only phone us on a number you have looked up yourself. Do not call the number shown in caller ID or in your call log.

Scammers may tell you that your tax file number (TFN) has been cancelled or suspended due to money laundering or other criminal activity.

They will say you either need to:

pay money to avoid being arrested or sent to court
transfer your money to a safe bank account to protect your TFN from future misuse.

We do not cancel TFNs.

Always check that you’re dealing with a legitimate agency before providing any information. If you’re not sure, hang up.

You can phone us to check. Only call us on a number you have looked up yourself. Do not call the number given to you in the call or voicemail.

Scammers may refuse to allow you to speak with a trusted adviser or your regular tax agent.

They do this to prevent anyone from telling you that it’s a scam and stopping you from paying.

We will never prevent you from discussing your tax affairs with your trusted adviser or agent.

Scammers may attempt to make a conference call with a fake tax professional, law enforcement officer or another official.

They do this to make the call seem real and increase your fear, but the second person will be another scammer.

We will never make a conference call with a third party, such as your tax agent or law enforcement.

Know your tax affairs – you can log into ATO online services through myGov to check your tax affairs at any time. You can also contact your tax agent or the ATO.

Scammers may request payment by iTunes, Google Play, STEAM or other vouchers.

These vouchers can be easily purchased and sold globally. They are an untraceable form of currency (money).

We will never request payment of a debt via iTunes, Google Play, STEAM or other vouchers.