TRANSCRIPT
With tax-season fast approaching, experts are urging caution due to a high number of scammers using the opportunity to target Australians for their personal and financial information.
New data from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia suggests that 24 per cent of Australians have already been targeted with a tax-related scam.
The Commonwealth Bank's General Manager of Group Fraud Management Services, James Roberts, says their research also shows that many people don't understand how to best identify these scams.
"C-B-A's latest research found that one in four people have been exposed to a tax-related scam so, while many Aussies are eagerly awaiting their tax return, unfortunately scammers will also be hoping to capitalise on the moment. That's why we've tested people on their ability to spot scams and, encouragingly, 69 per cent successfully identified all of the scams but that also means roughly one-in-three didn't."
So, if so many have already been exposed to these scams, and with many more to come over the tax season, how can we better understand what to look for and how these kinds of scams work?
Samantha Yorke [[york]] works for the Australian Communications and Media Authority, the government's national communications regulator.
She says scammers have become very sophisticated, and new technology has allowed them to evade targeted anti-scam efforts.
"Scammers are increasingly pretty sophisticated criminal networks these days, proving to be very agile in adapting their methods when we start to crack down on a certain type of scam or a certain distribution platform. They take advantage of our being very focused on tax at the moment to contact us because they know that that would be expected from us at this time of year and that we would therefore be more trusting."
The national communications regulator has addressed an increase in scam numbers by introducing new regulatory codes that ensure telecommunication companies have to increase their efforts to detect and block scammers before they have the chance to reach their victims.
If they fail to comply, they can be fined up 250,000 dollars.
Ms Yorke says scammers have a number of approach methods, but will often seek to mimic correspondence from government bodies like myGov and the Australian Taxation Office.
"What we have seen are often robocalls or calls from people who are pretending to be from the tax office, calling on the basis of an urgent debt that needs to be paid or to request personal information from you in order to process a tax refund. Contact can also be made by email or by S-M-S that often include links to follow, to update or fix your personal information to receive a fake refund. "
This method of impersonating reputable sources to lure victims into providing personal information is a well-known scam practice known as phishing [[fishing]].
According to the National Anti-Scam Centre's January to March 2024 quarterly report, phishing was the top reported scam type in Australia followed by false billing scams and identity theft.
So how can you spot the difference between a phishing scam and official correspondence from the A-T-O regarding your taxes?
Assistant Commissioner with the A-T-O, Rob Thomson, says there are a few warning signs to watch for that likely indicate you've been contacted by a scammer.
"So the first one is that we will never send an unsolicited email or S-M-S that contains a Q-R code or a hyperlink to log into our online services or to myGov. The second is we're never going to ask for your passwords, your account numbers or any other personal data via email, S-M-S or unsolicited phone calls. The other one is the A-T-O numbers actually come up as 'no caller ID', so they don't show a number. And the fourth one is we'll never threaten people with immediate arrest or demand that they stay on the phone until they've made a payment."
The National Anti-Scam Centre’s latest Targeting Scams report revealed Australians lost $2.74 billion to scams in 2023 and reported over 601,000 different scams to key monitoring organisations.
While this was a 13.1 per cent decline in losses when compared to 2022, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, or A triple C, which runs the anti-scam centre, says this decline wasn't seen in the over 65 age demographic.
They continue to lose the most to scammers each year.
Catriona Lowe [[cat-ree-nah]], acting chair of the ACCC [[A-triple-C]] says this may be due to a number of reasons.
"Retirees may, not all of course, but many retirees may have more substantial savings. They may be more actively therefore looking for savings and investments opportunities. And of course, people over 65 are not what we would call digital natives. So in some respects, they may be less familiar with some of the tricks and traps that scammers use in order to lure their victims in."
However, Ms Lowe says anyone can fall victim to a scam regardless of age, due to the psychology used by scammers to cloud a victim's judgement.
"Scammers, we do see, are getting increasingly sophisticated in getting consumers into what's called a hot state. So a high emotional state, whether that be urgency or fear or excitement. It's where our usual cautions may be overridden"
She says the best advice for consumers is to remember three words when navigating a potential scam situation.
Stop... think... and protect.
"So stop before you click on that link or make that transfer. Think, do I really know who I'm dealing with? Independently find the phone number. Independently find the website and check that what sounds like a good opportunity is in fact legitimate and protect. Trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, report the matter to your financial institution and to Scamwatch."
When someone finds that they have become a victim of a scammer it can cause feelings of confusion and shame.
But Ms Lowe says you mustn't blame yourself for the actions of an increasingly sophisticated criminal network.
"We know that people do often feel a sense of shame or embarrassment about being caught, but the important thing to remember is firstly, you are not alone. People from all walks of life, all ages, all demographics have been caught by scammers. And secondly, you have been targeted by a financial criminal. It is a deliberate sophisticated trap. Like any crime, it is not the fault of the victim, it is the fault of the criminal."
Samantha Yorke from the Australian Communications and Media Authority says the more conversations had about scams with loved ones, the more they will feel empowered to speak up if they have concerns or if they feel like they may be a victim.
"It's really important to talk about scams with your family and friends and your colleagues. Because people are naturally quite embarrassed or ashamed if they've been targeted by a scam, and particularly if they've been foiled by a scam. So the more that we talk about scams as a society, we kind of de-stigmatise them."
