The Serious Organised Crime Division has confirmed that in the last week, Tasmanians have paid nearly $100,000 to the Australian Tax Office scam.

Police yesterday received over 100 calls from members in the community who had been contacted by these scammers.

In this scam, the caller states they are from the Tax Office or other government department and that you owe them money.  They usually say it originates from an audit of previous tax returns, and they also tell you there is or will be a warrant of arrest or property seizure issued, if you don’t pay them your outstanding debt immediately.

They will tell you to pay the money through online transfer, into another bank account, onto a pre-paid or gift card like Woolworths or iTunes or by transfer at the Post Office through Western Union, or onto prepaid cards such as Load and Go.  They will more than likely stay on the phone with you and talk you through what to do and say to anyone who queries you.

Police are currently liaising with retail and other stores in order to try to disrupt this network by identifying victims at the time they are about to deposit those funds or buy gift or pre-paid credit cards and provide them with warnings of the scam.

To report any attempt to scam, please email Tasmania Police at Fraud@police.tas.gov.au and provide the time, date, suburb you are calling from and any phone number used to call you or quoted in a recorded message.  This will help police in attempting to lock down these phone numbers being used.  You can also call the following number on 03 61732781, at any time, and leave those details in message form.

If you have paid money, please report it to Police on 131444.