Last Friday, I got a call from a man who told me he was from the Australian Taxation Office. Then he told me there was a warrant out for my arrest for miscalculations on my previous tax return, and that the police would be coming to take me to jail if I didn't repay the ATO within the next 45 minutes.
The only way I could avoid going to jail, he said, was if I immediately purchased $2000 worth of Google gift cards to pay my debt.
He then pretended to have a conversation on another line with a police officer about the "warrant" for my arrest. He also told me that I was not legally allowed to hang up on the call. As soon as I began to question him, he became aggressive, shouting down the line that the police were coming right now and I was going to spend three years in jail.
The ACCC’s Scamwatch has warned about recent a spike in scams in which people received calls threatening them with arrest or jail over unpaid tax debts. Between November and 20 January, Scamwatch received reports of almost $900,000 in losses to ATO scams. Some of these scammers are even spoofing the ATO switchboard, so the call appears to be coming from a legitimate ATO number.
These are the scare tactics scammers use
"Fear, blame and urgency. This combination of fear and urgency is designed to get you in a state where you feel like you need to take immediate action, and where you don’t have the time to start questioning them," says Dr Liam Pomfret, an expert on consumer behaviour and a board member of the Australian Privacy Foundation.
"Typically, the scammers will claim that there's some kind of urgent payment that you need to make. Often that'll be something like taxes, but you'll also encounter scammers claiming you owe money for speeding fines, your phone, electricity or gas bill, or even insurance and medical expenses," he says.
Scammers will claim you owe money for speeding fines, your phone, electricity or gas bill, or even insurance and medical expenses.
Older and younger people may be especially vulnerable to this sort of psychological manipulation, according to Dr Pomfret.
"That's where the urgency comes in," Dr Pomfret explains. "Managing your finances can be scary enough to begin with. Add in a confident sounding person at the end of a telephone line, who's starting to get aggressive and threatening you with arrest if you don't pay up?
"If you ever get a call or email claiming you will be arrested due to a tax debt, simply hang up the phone or delete the email. Do not call the number provided in the phone message or email you receive."
Here's how to spot a scam and what to do next:
- If they tell you someone is coming to arrest you – it’s a scam
- If they tell you that you can’t hang up – it’s a scam
- If they want you to do anything immediately – it’s a scam
- If they start to threaten you – it’s a scam
- If they ask you for your address, birthdate or banking details – it’s a scam
- If they ask for payment in gift cards, Bitcoin, cash – it’s a scam
- If you are in doubt – assume it’s a scam, hang up and call 1800 008 540
Keep calm and tell someone about it
"These types of scams can really fall apart once you start interrogating them, so long as you retain your confidence. Those most vulnerable are those who are less likely to ask those questions in the first place, and whose confidence can be easily attacked," says Dr Pomfret.
It's important for victims not to keep quiet about it. Don’t be embarrassed for having fallen for it in the first place. "The most important thing we can do,” says Dr Pomfret, “is talk about it with our friends and families so they don’t become victims too."
