Australian Taxation Office’s debt calls sparks spree of phone scammers

The ATO’s renewed bid to haul tax debtors into line has inadvertently given rise to a new series of phone scammers.

Efforts by the Australian Taxation Office to claw back billions of dollars in unpaid taxes over the phone is giving scammers cover to trick ordinary people into handing over their cash.

After pausing most debt ­recovery at the height of the pandemic, the ATO has now ramped up its activity by calling businesses and individuals who owe tax.

But Labor has warned that the move is having the “unintended consequences” of ­legitimising similar scams where criminals impersonate tax collectors.

Financial services spokesman Stephen Jones said the ATO’s public confirmations it was “hitting the phones” had the “grave potential to play into the hands of criminal fraudsters” and expose “ordinary Australian consumers and businesses” to scams.

Phone scams cost Australia $33 billion each year.

“The direct and immediate impact of scams on Australia is $33bn a year, but on top of that, people lose faith in online commerce,” Mr Jones told The Daily Telegraph.

In a letter to Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, Mr Jones has urged the government to abandon the “unsolicited” phone call debt notification system so Australians can be more confident about identifying scammers.

As of February 2021, the ATO had $32bn in collectable debt, of which small businesses accounted for about two-thirds, while privately owned and wealth groups were indebted $7bn and individuals about $4bn.

Labor’s financial services spokesman Stephen Jones. Picture: Gary Ramage

Mr Jones said Labor “wholeheartedly supports” the ATO’s pursuit of unpaid taxes, but wanted to “explore alternative means” of debt recovery that would not cause confusion among consumers.

He said scammers targeted the elderly, people with English as a second language and everyday Australians who were “simply busy”. Earlier this year, one victim was scammed a whopping $36,000 after being hit by an “ATO debt” scam.

Mr Jones said there was a “pandemic of scams” going on in Australia, with criminals pretending to be the ATO.

“There’s next to nothing in place for people to verify whether that person on the phone with them right now is a legitimate tax office employee or scammer,” he said.

The ATO has scam advice on its website and social media, which instructs customers not to hand over personal information if they are unsure about a caller.