Blayney police have received a number of calls from residents who have being contacted from people pretending to be from the Australian Tax Office demanding money from unpaid taxes or tax fraud, and threatening them with prison if it’s not paid.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Sergeant Karl Hutchings said that the predatory callers prey on the elderly in particular.
“Some of the callers have been extremely aggressive in their tone and that can be very distressing for the elderly,” he said.
Despite the fact that pensioners don’t have to lodge a tax return, Sgt Hutchings said that the scammers have been intimidating and unrepentant.
“They actually left a number that we called back on and when we told them to stop doing it, they just laughed and said ‘come and make me,’’ he said.
One of the scammers tricks is to use voice over internet protocol (VOIP) to make the number on your phone appear to be from Australia.
The number that has appeared on phones handed to Blayney police was 02 6064 2062.
The ATO and Blayney police encourages anyone that has concerns about the calls to contact the ATO on 1800 008 540 or Blayney police on 6368 9599.
Mark Logan
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
Started working in newspapers in the 1990's in the darkroom of the Pastoral Times in Deniliquin before moving to Millthorpe in 2003. Soon after arriving I started as a photographer at the CWD. Now a journalist at the Blayney Chronicle.
