This week I wrote about the latest craze on #TikTok ... tax fraud.
"But most of the blame falls on the ATO for its lack of oversight. The scheme was so simple that many claimants were unaware their actions amounted to fraud. Such situations also make taxpayers vulnerable to identity thieves who can use their information for a quick payday, leaving the taxpayer to explain themselves when they seek their own income tax refund.”
@andrew@law I understand why you don’t want to go into the details of the scheme, but I have a follow-up question. The form where they request an Australian Business Number, how does one request the money? Like where and how does it get sent? So at least if it is a person who hasn’t been duped into fraud falls victim, can the funds be tracked?
Yep, the funds are tracked -- quite easily, actually -- as it just goes to the account they've tied to the portal for paying taxes. It seems they could request a check as well, but it would still only be sent to the confirmed address of the taxpayer.
It seems most of the money can be recovered, which is the one upside to an otherwise pretty "ugh" story.
@andrew@law so it sounds like it would end up being a pretty ineffective scam for identity thieves. Not to remove blame from the ATO at all but there do seem like perhaps more successful ways to illicitly obtain funds. But oof this story about people not realizing they are participating in fraud is rough. Yet another example of why people really shouldn’t take financial advice from randos on the internet!
Add comment