Yahoo Finance ATO warns Aussies against JobKeeper phone scam
The Australian Taxation Office has warned Australians against scammers pretending to be from the ATO and requesting bank account details.
The scammers claim to need the victim’s bank details in order to give them JobKeeper wage subsidy, according to a statement from the tax office.
“They are telling them that their employer has registered them for the JobKeeper payment, but that the ATO needs their bank account details to deposit the funds into their account.
“Do not provide the information requested,” the tax office stated.
Here’s what you need to know
If you’re eligible for JobKeeper, the payments will be made by your employer to you.
The ATO later reimburses your employer for the payments.
“The ATO does not need the bank account details of individual employees,” the tax office said.
“Scammers are constantly developing new ways to steal from the community, and will often try to take advantage of people when they are most vulnerable.”
The best thing to do is to let your family and friends know about the scam, the ATO advised.
If you aren’t sure if a phone call from the ‘ATO’ is real or not, hang up and dial the ATO on 1800 008 540.
If you receive an email or text scam claiming to be from the ATO, forward it to ReportEmailFraud@ato.gov.au.
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