Officers from The Hume Police District have undertaken an investigation following reports of a scam.
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According to the Hume Police District last week officers received reports of a scam involving unsolicited calls to people in the Southern Highlands and Goulburn areas from people claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
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They said the scam involved the threat of immediate arrest if money was not paid.
In one case, a victim paid thousands of dollars in a cash payment to an unknown man after receiving numerous phone calls. In one of the calls, the scammers also threatened to send the local police to see the victim.
Officers from The Hume Police District reminded the community the Australian Taxation Office would never threaten immediate arrest and never ask you to pay via:
- Cardless cash transfer,
- Tunes, Google Play cards or other vouchers,
- Crypto currency, or
- Into any account not held by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The Australian Tax Office advised not to give out your tax file number (TFN), date of birth or bank details unless you trust the person you're dealing with and they genuinely require these details.
For more information visit: www.ato.gov.au
If you're concerned that a phone call, SMS text message, voice mail or email you receive claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is not genuine, don't reply to it. Instead contact the police on 1800 008 540.
