It appears that scammers never run out of ideas to rip people off, and the EOFY is no exception. In fact last July more than $7.2 million was stolen from home computers.

With many employees now working either part time or full time from their home office, a significant risk has been created for Australian businesses. Employers need to ensure that work laptops, computers and technology used outside the office have tight security protocols, backups and better protection against cyber threats.

EOFY is like Christmas to scammers who like to take advantage of business owners and their employees through highly targeted tax related scams.

As if it isn’t enough for us to deal with the delivery of SMS messages we get sent five times a week, we need to be even more careful during the tax season.

Some of the latest scam alerts in the last 12 months from the ATO are:

• Fake TFN/ABN application scams
  Fraudulent websites claiming they can get you a TFN for a fee.
• SMS and email scams on cryptocurrency
  Scammers pretending to be from the ATO telling people they are suspected of being involved in cryptocurrency tax evasion and then asking them to ‘connect their wallet’ and provide detailed information via a link.
• Phone and email scams over superannuation
  Scammers are phoning and emailing people pretending to be financial advisers or super experts. They are encouraging people to invest their super in a supposedly high performing self-managed super fund (SMSF).
• Fake tax debt
  Scammers pretending to be from the ATO are calling people and telling them they have a tax debt that they need to pay straight away.
• Updating your financial information email scam for tax refund
  Scammers are sending emails telling people they will receive a tax refund. They ask them to update their financial information on an attached form to process the refund. Subject heading: Secure mail from Australian taxation Office (ATO-1F2N7)
• Phone scam demanding money by new methods
  Scammers are trying to trick people into making payments by pretending to be from the ATO and other agencies, such as the Australian Federal Police. They might tell you that your TFN has been suspended or compromised due to money laundering or other illegal activity or that you owe a debt.
• Email scam to update your myGovID details
  Scammers pretending to be from the ‘myGov customer care team’ are sending emails telling people they need to verify their identity by clicking on a link. DON’T!
• Suspended TFN scam
  The ATO is receiving increasing reports of people losing money to automated phone scams. Scammers pretending to be from the ATO tell people their tax file number (TFN) has either been:
  • suspended due to illegal activity, OR
  • compromised by a scammer.
  They request the call recipient to either pay a fine to release their TFN or transfer all bank funds into a holding account to protect it from future misuse. HANG UP!

And the list continues to grow each month.

If you receive an SMS, emails or letters from any of the above DO NOT OPEN ATTACHMENTS OR CLICK ON ANY LINKS.

Report them immediately to your local police. You can also report any ATO suspected scams directly on 1800 008 540.

While your business might be focusing on maximising your deductions in the next few months, scammers are going after you and your employees. So be careful.

What’s new from the ATO this FY?

With the increasing scrutiny by the ATO post the pandemic, businesses need to make sure they are on top of their tax returns, particularly in the areas of record keeping, work-related expenses, rental property income and capital gains.

This means the 2022 EOFY process is likely to be more time consuming and complex for most organisations compared to previous years.

Contact us for our 2022 EOFY working from home checklist designed to help your business and your employees with their end of financial year deductions.

The checklist highlights the need to provide recorded hours worked from home, what you can and can’t claim based on the two options available

Most businesses report having low or no capacity at this time of year, however embracing automation will help your business quickly recover from the past few years and allow you to grow in the future. Reach out if you’d like to discuss the technology solutions we would love our clients to be using to make this process simpler for all of us.

We find those businesses who can redefine processes and improve operational efficiencies through automation are those who are recovering and growing faster than those who continue to rely on manual processes.

Preparing for the EOFY should be as simple as preparing any other report your business needs and should afford you additional focus time needed to drive growth in the new financial year.

We look forward to working with you again this coming tax season. Please feel free to connect at any time.