Scammers target unsuspecting seniors, divert tax refunds—stay vigilant!

Tax season in Australia is when many people look forward to their refunds from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

However, it's also a prime time for scammers to target unsuspecting individuals, particularly through the myGov platform.

With reports of fraudulent activities on the rise, it's crucial for Australians, especially seniors, to take steps to protect their hard-earned money.


The myGov platform is an essential tool for Australians to access various government services, including the ATO, Medicare, and Centrelink.

Unfortunately, scammers have been exploiting this centralised system during the tax season when many are eager to complete their tax returns.


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Australian taxpayers were targeted by scammers accessing myGov accounts during tax time. Credit: Shutterstock


The ATO reported a significant increase in impersonation scams, with 2,464 reports in June alone, marking a 48 per cent rise from the previous month.

In June 2023, 1,793 cases of impersonation scams were reported.

In the subsequent month, the ATO disclosed that scammers committing identity fraud had extracted over $557 million from July 2021 to February 2023.


Scammers typically use phishing techniques, sending text messages with links to fake myGov sites.

Once victims enter their details, scammers access their genuine myGov accounts, change contact details to prevent notifications and redirect tax refunds to their accounts.

The entire process can happen in minutes, with losses ranging from $3,000 to $8,000.

Despite the security measures in place, myGov users have questioned why two-factor authentication or passkeys are optional.

Services Australia, which runs myGov, holds only basic personal information, with sensitive details stored by linked agencies.


However, this doesn't prevent scammers from manipulating the system to divert funds.

Dr Henry Cheung, a cybersecurity expert, warns that scammers target everyone, with first-time users and older individuals being particularly vulnerable.

Scammers are opportunistic, responding to policy changes and seasonal patterns, such as the recent spike in Medicare scams following changes to bulk billing practices.

‘You can expect scams about tax from June to October,’ he said.

Scam incidents are increasing, with 601,000 scams reported in 2023 compared to 507,000 in 2022.


However, a National Anti-Scam Centre report published in April shows a decline in financial losses due to scams.

The actual number of scams is likely higher than reported.

From January to June 2024, Scamwatch received 143,106 scam reports, totalling $134.47 million in financial losses.

Phishing scams, including those targeting myGov, accounted for $9.65 million, with text messages being the most common contact method.

New South Wales experienced the highest number of scams.


The Australian federal government announced a revamp of the myGov system, replacing usernames and passwords with passkeys such as face and fingerprint recognition to fight scams.

Criminals have targeted myGov accounts, which contain sensitive data from Centrelink, the ATO, and Medicare, causing billions in losses. Read more about it here.
Key Takeaways
  • Scammers are targeting Australian taxpayers by fraudulently accessing myGov accounts during tax time, and a significant rise in tax-related scams has been reported in recent months.
  • Victims are falling prey to phishing scams, which trick them into providing access details to their myGov and ATO accounts, diverting tax refunds to the scammers.
  • MyGov has been questioned regarding its security features, such as the lack of compulsory two-factor authentication or passkeys, though users can enable these for additional security.
  • The ATO and Services Australia advise never to click on hyperlinks sent via text or email, recommend setting up two-factor authentication and a passkey, and report any security concerns to their helpdesk. According to the National Anti-Scam Centre, scam reports are rising, but financial losses appear to be decreasing.
Have you or someone you know been targeted by these types of scams? What measures have you taken to protect your myGov account? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below.
 
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Yes, it’s a pain in the bum getting all the scam emails and unsolicited phone calls…..I’ve been doing this for a while now and it has definitely helped….. I have my phone set to not accept scam or spam numbers although I can view them later if I like……any calls that do get through, I just block the number, and calls that have no number are treated as blocked unless I mark it a trusted number……Emails, well I’ve certainly had my fair share of those…..Tax, MyGov, Medicare, Spotify, Netflix, and others that just open and there’s a picture of a woman with all her wares on display, I tell you 🤦‍♀️ …..All of them either saying I owe them money or they want to give me money……Rule of thumb…If you’re not expecting anything and know you don’t owe anything, don’t click on a link, in fact DON’T CLICK ON ANY LINK…DON’T BE TEMPTED BY ANYTHING CONCERNING MONEY…..ESPECIALLY IF YOU‘RE NOT EXPECTING ANYTHING 🌹
Well said!
 
If in doubt don/t and if it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is, and if you did not ask to be called then it probably is a scammer.
 
So true, I have my phone set up the same way. And yes, the emails from companies saying I have won money in something I never acquired tickets for. And the scammers on Facebook saying they love you and want to get to know you. Same msg, but many different photos, ummmm. I love deleting stuff.😁
The scammers on Facebook are a joke. I must have had every General of the US Army try to friend me! Not interested.
 
I got a frantic woman telling me I had to quickly give my Amazon details to her because they’d accidentally charged my account $3000.00 and needed to delete the charge! Soooo…..I gave her the phone number and website of the Bendigo police station. I’ve never had an Amazon account. And,yes,her call came from brazil!
Good thinking
 
Sounds like you were on the Temu site.
This happened to me also,.but there is a reason. Sometimes a particular item, say a pair of brown shoes is $15.00, but if you happen to want black, they may be a higher price.
This is because they are endeavouring to quit the brown ones which are not selling as well.
When you order a different colour the price will change, before you put it in the cart, giving you the chance to not purchase if you don't want to pay the extra.
Temu also have a minimum spend of $40 in order to get free delivery.
They are not a scam, you just need to know how it works.
I wanted to return an item, they told me to keep it and the refund was in my account within 10 minutes.
Also received a $5 credit today for an order that arrived one day late.
Much better service than most Australian companies. I waited over two months for a refund from one Australian company
.
Temu add the Australian tax on to the price after the total
 
I'm back to getting sex emails, mostly women, sometimes men. It stopped for awhile but started again. Amazing what they want to do for me. Get about 8 a day. Also one from a friends name, with photos I think, he doesn't have a clue but his son who is tech savvy says you can't do much about it as tried everything. Never open it, Woolworths, Bunnings, they all come, stop for a few weeks and start again. Oh well, life is certainly interesting on emails.
 
Temu add the Australian tax on to the price after the total
Since when, I've been dealing with them ever since they started there has never been any tax added. I have never paid any more than the price shown.
I even got an $8.20 credit yesterday because the price had dropped since I placed my order and my order hadn't been despatched yet.
What did you purchase that required a tax??
 
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I have a hard and fast rule...if anyone asks me to buy on line ..NO. Im an adult ,I know how to buy things, if I want to change my electricity, I can do it in an instant, heres a fun thing...accept all offers, sign nothing change your electricity every day I do accept all offers ,,sign nothing and if any calls about it deny all knowledge tell them "how do I know if you are real?). I also dont do business with business that dont have a physical address
What does being an adult have to do with not buying on line?
I'm 77, so I think I'm an adult, I buy on line all the time. Much cheaper and delivered to the door.
Why do you accept offers if you're not interested. Sounds childish to me and you said you're an adult.🤷
 
The problem I have had with 'private numbers' is if you miss the call, you don't know who it was and can't call back. Centrelink and other government departments now use 'private number' to call so what to do? I complained to Centrelink, so the next time they wanted to call me they sent a text saying they were going to call me and they did, but still using 'private number'! It's madness!!
 
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I got a frantic woman telling me I had to quickly give my Amazon details to her because they’d accidentally charged my account $3000.00 and needed to delete the charge! Soooo…..I gave her the phone number and website of the Bendigo police station. I’ve never had an Amazon account. And,yes,her call came from brazil!
Great Come back that will teach her ... Good move !
 
Yes, definitely check the total amount payable when you hit the checkout button…….very often tax and postage is calculated at this point, but I’ve came across some that aren’t…. It happened that the checkout total was what I was expecting ….I pay with PayPal so I was directed to them to make my payment which I did, then back to the seller to submit my order….but…..tax and postage had been added on which was not noted anywhere prior to payment….. so I didn’t click the submit order button and went back and emptied my cart….because I had authorised payment with PayPal the amount came out of my account showing authorisation only, and because I hadn’t submitted my order the seller couldn’t take payment…..A couple of days later the authorisation dropped off and my money made available again………Mmmmmm you really do have to watch out when purchasing online…..
 
I got a frantic woman telling me I had to quickly give my Amazon details to her because they’d accidentally charged my account $3000.00 and needed to delete the charge! Soooo…..I gave her the phone number and website of the Bendigo police station. I’ve never had an Amazon account. And,yes,her call came from brazil!
Anytime I get a call from a person with an Indian/Pakistani or specially a POMMY ACCENT I simply tell them that I am a Police officer and they quickly hang up.
 
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