Adelaide-based Bhaumik Brahmbhatt was out on Friday morning driving for Uber when he received a call from 'Shirley', who claimed to be from Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
For the next five hours, Mr Brahmbhatt says he was threatened with arrest and tax fraud charges if he failed to shell out money to ‘settle the matter’.
“I have Truecaller on my phone which displays where the phone is coming from," he told SBS Hindi.
"The call was identified as ATO’s Melbourne office. That’s why I took it.”
He says a woman with an Australian accent told him that his tax agent had 'messed up' his tax returns and that he owed $90,000 to the ATO.
“She said they had levelled four charges of tax fraud against me and had issued an arrest warrant for failing to pay the amount.
“She said the matter could be settled if I agreed to pay them right away and then asked for my tax agent’s name and details for verification purpose,” Mr Brahmbhatt said.
The scammers then appeared to impersonate Mr Brahmbhatt’s tax agent.
man on mobile phone Source: Pexels
“Immediately after that, I received a call from my tax agent’s mobile phone. I had saved his number and so I received it,” he says.
But instead of his tax agent, there was another impersonator, who called himself ‘Sanjeev’ and spoke in Hindi.
“He said he had recently joined my tax agent’s office and was new. I believed him because he was calling from my tax agent’s mobile phone,” he said.
But instead of his tax agent, there was another impersonator, who called himself ‘Sanjeev’ and spoke in Hindi.
Bhaumik claims that 'Sanjeev' - the impersonator from his tax agent’s office, accepted it was their fault and advised him to pay the amount the ATO was demanding to ‘settle the matter’.
Mr Brahmbhatt drove to his bank and withdrew $8000 to settle the matter and avoid his arrest.
“I received an email with a barcode. I was instructed to go to a bitcoin machine and asked to deposit money thereafter scanning the barcode.
“All this while, they were on phone with me. They did not put the phone down,” he says.
The matter did not end there.
Bhaumik Brahmbhatt paid $20,000 cash into bitcoin machine. Source: Pexels
“The woman said I would have to pay an additional amount of $12,000 to drop the tax fraud charges against me. $3,000 per charge,” he says.
“I have led a pretty straightforward life and I did not want any blots on my reputation here. I was afraid. They manipulated me into paying $20,000” he says.
Mr Brahmbhatt finally called his tax agent after the scammers hung up on him
“That is when my tax agent said I had been scammed,” he says.
Mr Brahmbhatt has reported the matter to local police in Adelaide who told him it is very unlikely he will get his money back.
“I also called the ATO the same night who said there are many scams claiming to be from ATO,” he says.
“I was shocked and devastated. I will work hard and earn the money back but I do not want anybody else to get scammed like me. That is why I want you to share my story,” he says.
Computer hacker stealing data from a laptop Source: GettyImages/BrianAJackson
ATO warns against scammers imitating ATO switchboard numbers
The Australian Taxation Office says it has seen an increase in the number of reports of scammers contacting members of the public pretending to be from the ATO, then claiming that there are outstanding tax debts and threatening people with arrest if the debt is not paid immediately.
“We are now seeing an evolution of this tactic where the scammers are using technology to make it look like the calls originate from a legitimate ATO phone number. This number may appear on caller ID, be left on voice mail messages for callbacks, or directed by *69 for call back functionality. Scammers do this to make the calls seem more valid when they call people a second time. Most frequently the number appearing is 6216 1111, but other numbers have been used as well,” the ATO advises.
“While these scam calls may appear to be from the ATO with a spoofed caller ID, it is important to remember that a legitimate caller from the ATO will never threaten you with arrest, demand immediate payment, particularly through unusual means such as bitcoin, pre-paid credit cards or gift cards and refuse to allow you to speak with a trusted advisor or your regular tax agent or present a phone number on caller ID.
“Never call a scammer back on the number they provide. If in doubt, independently locate a contact number for the organisation referenced in the call or email,” they have advised.
If in any doubt about an ATO call, people are advised to hang up and phone on 1800 008 540 to check if the call was legitimate or report a scam.
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