As June 30 approaches, Australians must remain vigilant for potential scams as one of Australia’s big four banks has issued a grave warning. National Australia Bank (NAB) has forewarned users of the potential to come across cyber criminals impersonating government agencies.
Tax time is a time that most people have to be extra cautious in order to ensure their personal information and finances remains safe.
Over the past nine months, NAB has increased its fraud team size by more than 50 personnel in anticipation of a surge in scams related to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) close to June 30. In the 2022-23 fiscal year so far, the ATO has recorded 20,000 reports of tax-related scams – roughly 360 per month.
Tessa Bowles, the NAB Scam Awareness Lead, stressed the importance of being vigilant, as the conclusion of the financial year attracts more cybercriminals intent on stealing tax returns.
“With the high cost of living, tax refunds are likely to be on the minds of many Australians who don’t want to see their well-earned money fall into the wrong hands,” she said.
“People may be tricked by scammers into believing they must pay a tax debt or face being arrested.”
According to Scamwatch, text and email are the most common methods used by ATO impersonators to contact potential victims, while online communications are the most popular way to execute rebate scams. In just this year, more than $4.2 million has been lost to rebate scams.
Ms Bowles indicated that prior to tax season, NAB had noted a surge in fraud scenarios, highlighting that the amount of phone calls mimicking the ATO during June were two times the usual monthly average.
“It is important to keep in mind that the ATO will never threaten any individual with instant arrest, no matter how aggressively or threateningly they are contacted by phone; nor should one feel pressurized into making any payments. If you fear that you have been scammed, contact your bank right away,” she said.
