How to stay scam safe
How to stay scam safe
Take a sec to check
Scammers aim to take advantage of weak security and plan on you being distracted with everyday life.
To keep yourself safe:
- Stop – Don’t share your personal information such as your myGov sign in details, Tax File Number (TFN), or bank account details, with anyone unless you trust the person and they genuinely require your details.
- Check – Take a sec to check. Ask yourself could the message or call be fake? Is it really the ATO contacting you?
- Protect – Act quickly if something feels wrong or you’ve noticed suspicious activity on your ATO accounts.
Always be aware of what information you share. If a scammer gets your personal information they can use it to access your bank account, sign in to your myGov account, or steal money and commit fraud in your name.
If an interaction doesn’t feel right, don’t engage. You should either:
- go to Verify or report a scam
- check our latest Scam alerts
- or phone the ATO on 1800 008 540 to check.
If you are the victim of a data breach and your personal information has been accessed, go to Data breach guidance for individuals.
Your personal information
To commit identity crime or fraud, scammers only need some of your personal information. This may include:
- full name
- date of birth
- current address
- myGov and ATO online login details
- TFN
- passwords
- bank account numbers
- credit card details
- driver’s licence details
- passport details.
They can use this information in a variety of ways, such as to commit refund fraud in your name, access your myGov account to steal your tax refund, steal your superannuation or sell your identity to organised crime groups on the dark web or via other means.
If you suspect your personal information, such as your TFN, has been stolen, misused or compromised, phone the ATO as soon as possible on 1800 467 033 between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm Monday to Friday. They will investigate and can place extra protection on your ATO account.
Consequences of identity theft
If your identity is stolen the consequences can extend far beyond immediate financial loss (such as your super being cleaned out or refund fraud committed in your name) and lead to significant personal and professional challenges. Such as:
- impact to your credit rating, making it difficult to be approved for a loan or credit card
- making it difficult for you to prove who you are and get new identity documents
- damage to your reputation, potential for access to your social media accounts and spreading misinformation in your name
- it can also take victims of identity theft years to recover their identity and undo any damage
The emotional toll is also significant. Victims of identity theft often experience stress, anxiety and a sense of vulnerability knowing that someone else is capable of exploiting their personal information at any moment.
Protect yourself
Here are some top tips to keep your personal information safe:
- Don’t give out your personal information to anyone unless you trust the person and they genuinely require your details.
- We never send unsolicited emails or SMS with QR codes or links to an online portal. Scammers often use these methods to steal your personal information or plant malware on your devices. If you receive a notification asking you do this, it is a scam.
- Always access online services by directly typing the URL into a browser, not by clicking on a link.
- Protect your TFN – only give your TFN to organisations or people who have a legitimate need for it, such as your tax agent, current employer or bank. It’s important to verify that the person you’re giving your TFN to is who they say they are.
- Never share your passwords. Consider using passphrases instead of passwords, a password manager can help you generate or store passphrases. You should also consider updating them regularly.
- Enable multifactor authentication. If scammers obtain your password, it will be significantly harder for them to access your account.
- Keep your devices up to date. Scammers can use viruses, malware and programs to access or steal your personal information on your devices including phones, computers and tablets.
- Use your Digital ID (such as myID), set to the strongest level you can achieve, to access ATO online services through myGov.
To learn more about myID visit How to set up myID.
For top cyber security tips, visit Top cyber security tips for individuals. You can also set up Voice authentication to help protect your tax account and reduce the chance of scammers accessing it.
More information on securing your devices is available from the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
How the ATO keeps your information safe
They take the security and privacy of your personal information very seriously and have steps in place to make sure your data and online transactions are secure and safe.
They keep your personal information safe by:
- confirming your details when you contact them
- having a range of systems and controls in place to make sure your data and transactions are secure
- logging access to your personal information (to help the ATO identify any unusual behaviour).
To help you stay safe online, they:
- won’t ask you for your TFN or bank details via return email, SMS, or on social media
- won’t give your personal information to anyone without your consent, unless the law permits
- won’t communicate with you on behalf of another government agency or ask another government agency to represent them.
How they communicate with you
They may use SMS or email to ask you to contact them, but they will never send an unsolicited message with a link asking you to return personal information or log in to their online services.
The ATO has a Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn account, but will never use these platforms to ask you to provide personal information, documentation or ask you to make payments.
Source: ato.gov.au May 2025
Reproduced with the permission of the Australian Tax Office. This article was originally published on https://www.ato.gov.au/newsroom/smallbusiness/ .
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