A SCAMMER claiming to be from the Australian Taxation Office has been targeting dozens of residents in the Castlemaine and Maldon areas, with at least one resident potentially scammed out of thousands of dollars.
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Residents in Bendigo have also reported receiving calls from the scammer.
Leading Senior Constable Chad McKenzie, of Castlemaine police, said the police station had received at least 20 calls on Friday from residents concerned about a suspicious phone call using identical tactics.
He said a person claiming to be from the ATO – using the phone number 02 6152 8665 – will tell the target they owe up to $5000.
The target will be told to visit the local bank and withdraw thousands of dollars, before heading to a post office to purchase Load&Go prepaid cards at $1000 increments.
Once the money is loaded onto the cards, they will be told to read out the numbers on the cards and wait for half an hour for them to process.
They will then be told the ATO won’t contact them again.
Leading Senior Constable McKenzie said as soon as anyone receives a similar call, they should be vigilant and hang up.
“The ATO will always write to you if you have any outstanding matters,” he said.
He said at least one person had followed the instructions right to the end, and may have been scammed out of thousands of dollars.
One Bendigo resident who had received the call said they were “very forceful”.
“You can see why some people might fall for it, they really wouldn’t let you go,” he said.
“Afterwards I went and called my accountant just to be sure.”
If you receive a suspicious phone call, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
For information on how to detect a scam, visit www.scamwatch.gov.au
