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Woman threatened with jail time in elaborate tax scam for $5000


A woman has warned of a terrifying phone call scam just 10 days before Christmas that was so convincing she almost handed over $5000.

Tasmanian woman Ashlee Carey told of how she “nearly got scammed out of $4987″ by a caller pretending to be an agent from the ATO.

“I am posting this to warn all my cyber friends out there,” Ms Carey, 28, posted on Facebook on Wednesday.

She said received an automated phone message from the ‘ATO’ earlier this week.

“It was a Melbourne number… seemed legit,” Ms Carey said.

She called back and was told she owed $97,900 in taxes and the AFP would arrest her if she didn’t pay.

Ms Carey warned about the ATO impersonation scam.
Ms Carey warned about the ATO impersonation scam. Source Getty (file pic)

The scammers then called her pretending to be her accountant and told her it was a legitimate request. Bizarrely, the number showed up on Ms Carey’s phone as that of her accountant.

“They told me that if I hung up or put them on hold they would send the police out to arrest me,” Ms Carey wrote.

“I was told all my bank cards and bank accounts were fraudulent… I didn’t want to go to jail so I followed through with all their requests.”

The scammers told her to go to Target and pick up an ATO electronic debit request form, but when she arrived at the store – while still on the phone to them – they told her to purchase $1000 of iTunes gift cards instead.

ATO phone call scam: The scammers told Ms Carey to purchase $1,000 of iTunes gift cards.
The scammers told Ms Carey to purchase $1,000 of iTunes gift cards. Source: Getty (file pic)

It wasn’t until a Target employee warned her about a scam involving iTunes cards that she realised she had almost become a victim of the elaborate hoax and hung up the phone.

The terrifying scam comes after H&R Block warned people about scammers posing as tax agents and demanding payments be made through gift cards.

The ATO has urged people to contact them on 1800 008 540 if they think they have fallen victim to an ATO impersonation scam.