Personally, I find it perplexing that these con artists don’t have respectable employment and make a living that way. For computer users and businesses, they are a constant source of frustration and wasted expense. We are all aware that their objective is to steal our personal data and ultimately money.
According to the ATO, more bogus social media profiles are appearing on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms, impersonating them, their executives and staff. Very scary!
The ATO has provided the following advice for ensuring that it truly is the ATO:
- Verify the number of followers the account has. Over 200,000 people follow the ATO’s verified Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and over 65,000 people follow our Twitter account.
- Verify the accounts’ activity. The ATO has been using social media for around ten years; if the account is new or has only a few postings, it is not them.
- Make sure all email addresses provided to you end with “.gov.au.” • Look for the grey tick next to their username (@ato gov au) on Twitter and the blue tick next to their name (Australian Taxation Office) on Facebook.
The ATO advises not getting involved if you are approached by a suspected impostor account. Take a screenshot of the account, send the details to [email protected] and use the social media platform’s reporting feature to block the account. A much better solution than just simply deleting emails is blocking them.
If you are concerned about any correspondence you receive, before opening it or clicking on any links please call us so we can check your ATO account 07 5494 9173.
Source:www.ato.gov.au
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