Happy New (financial) Year! As it’s now tax time, scammers are on the hunt for your personal information and money.

Be wary of emails, phone calls, text messages and interactions on social media claiming to be from the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Scammers are impersonating the ATO and their employees across social media and other platforms, in an attempt to steal your personal details so they can access your bank accounts.

Scammers can manipulate the caller ID of phone calls and text messages, to appear as the ATO and tax agents, making it seem legitimate.

The ATO will never ask you to pay a fee to receive a tax refund or send a link via email or text message to log into their online services.

How you can protect yourself:

• Do not trust caller ID.
• Do not engage.
• Do not provide personal information.
• Do not provide bank details or send money or gift cards.
• Never click on links provided within emails or text messages.
• Always log directly into your MyGov account to view official correspondence.
• If unsure, call the ATO on 1800 008 540 to verify.

If you are a victim of a scam, you can make a report at www.cyber.gov.au/report

For further information on tax scams affecting South Australians, please visit https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/Identity-security-and-scams/