Business owners and flood victims have been warned to be wary of potential scams following separate warnings from Westpac Bank and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Westpac said it was likely there would be fake donation sites for the Lismore flood victims, as well as scammers posing as insurers, business executives and government staff claiming to offer help to the victims.
The bank said that the number of scams reported had grown over the past couple of years, and fraudsters often exploited natural disasters to take advantage of unsuspecting victims.
Westpac’s General Manager for Fraud Prevention and Financial Crime, Chris Whittingham, said: “Time and again, following a significant event or natural disaster, we see an increase in people being duped by scams.
“This is a tactic that fraudsters have continued to adopt throughout the pandemic when scams have almost tripled.
“We are urging people to be on high alert to the possibility of scams and to closely check that any websites or charitable organisations are legitimate before sending funds and your personal information.”
The ATO also advised Australians to be vigilant, saying it had received an increasing number of reports relating to fake websites offering to provide tax file numbers (TFNs) and Australian business numbers (ABNs) for a fee.
Its concern is underpinned by more than 50,000 reports of ATO-related scams last year in which victims lost a total of more than $800,000.
Fake websites offering services are commonly seen on social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, the ATO said.
TFNs and ABNs are available at no cost through the ATO and Australian Business Register, respectively.
ATO Assistant Commissioner Tim Loh said: “Scammers are constantly developing new ways to target the community, and we expect to see more of these malicious attempts to steal identity details in the lead-up to tax time”.
“We are concerned about the recent increase in victims reporting scams around TFN and ABN applications. We are also still seeing scammers impersonating the ATO, making threats and demanding the payment of fake tax debts, or claiming a TFN has been suspended due to fraud.”
The ATO has offered the following tips to guard against scammers:
Know your tax affairs: The ATO will always notify you of a tax debt before it is due.
Guard information: No personal or financial information should be shared, especially on social media. Be careful when clicking on links, downloading files or opening attachments.
Don’t engage: If you receive a text or call that does not appear to be genuine, do not engage or reply.
The ATO has a special scam line, 1800 008 540, or you can visit ato.gov.au/scams for more information.