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Eftpos-wielding tax scammers front up to victim’s house
Phone tax scammers have taken a bold step forward, having shown up at a man’s Adelaide home dressed as federal police officers with an eftpos machine and demanding he pay his tax debt.
Eftpos-wielding tax scammers front up to victim’s house
Phone tax scammers have taken a bold step forward, having shown up at a man’s Adelaide home dressed as federal police officers with an eftpos machine and demanding he pay his tax debt.
South Australian Police said they are currently investigating an audacious tax scam involving two men impersonating federal officers who tried to extort money from an Adelaide couple.
On Monday, the Salisbury Downs victim received an automated phone message telling him he had a tax debt and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.
The victim suspected a scam, rang the number back and terminated the call without providing any details.
About half an hour later, two men appeared at the door of the victim’s Salisbury Downs home, wearing blue jackets emblazoned with “Federal Police” and identified themselves as police officers.
They told the victim he had a tax debt and produced the eftpos machine.
According to the police, the victim challenged the men to produce identification, which prompted them to flee.
SA Police have described the two men as of Indian subcontinental and Asian appearance, one aged in late 20s, the other in his 40s with an American accent.
“A quick call to the ATO confirmed there was no outstanding tax debt, and the victim immediately reported the matter to police. No money was stolen,” said SA Police in a statement.
“Northern District CIB detectives are investigating and ask anyone who saw the two men at Salisbury Downs yesterday or have experienced any similar incidents to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.”
The newest scam attempt comes after a Brisbane man was recently sentenced to five years in jail after he used several aliases to lodge 62 fraudulent income tax returns.
Tax scams
The Tax Office previously said it commonly sees a spike in scammers during tax time and has seen a particular rise in ATO impersonation scams over the past year.
“We see ATO impersonation scams by phone, email and SMS, with the most commonly reported scam being a phone call claiming that there are outstanding tax debts and threatening people with arrest if the debt is not paid immediately,” an ATO spokesperson told nestegg’s sister site Accountants Daily.
ATO scam reports peaked at 39,025 reports during November 2018, with the total number of scams for 2018 at 114,625.
In the first quarter of 2019, the ATO received 40,225 reports of impersonation scams with just over $1 million in losses.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has noted that it’s confident investors who are being targeted in new scams, and projects scam losses to exceed $532 million by the end of the year, the first time such losses will surpass half a billion dollars.
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