October 19, 2015
by Anne Miller
South Burnett Online recently received a scam phone call from person claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office.
We hung up straight away before the scammer could begin his spiel.
However, if it had followed the usual course, we believe the caller would have suggested we had committed a tax offence, and that if an amount of money was not deposited into an account, a warrant would be issued and we would be arrested.
Police have warned these type of scam phone calls have been targeting numerous people in Queensland, and some residents have been scared into handing over money to the caller.
Recently, police intercepted a victim from the Crows Nest area who was in the process of depositing a five-figure sum of money into an account provided by the offenders.
“The Australian Taxation Office will never contact you in this manner and request funds be deposited into an account. Communication will be either through your accountant or via written communication,” a police spokesman said.
“If you do receive a phone call similar to the above scenario, can I ask that you refer it to the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce on 1300-795-995 or www.scamwatch.gov.au“
