A CUDAL farmer narrowly avoided losing a large chunk of his savings when his bank stepped in and stopped the transfer of thousands of dollars to scammers claiming to represent the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
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Police confirmed they were investigating the case after the man was told he had a tax debt and needed to transfer the money immediately or risk being arrested.
The man deposited the money via his bank, but a short time later he contacted the bank, which stopped the transaction.
Canobolas Local Area Command Acting Inspector Brenden Turner said farmers were particularly susceptible to the scam because many of them paid their tax in instalments, and may mistakenly think they had forgotten a payment.
“This man was very lucky,” Acting Inspector Turner said.
“People need to contact the organisation involved if they think something doesn’t look right. The tax office doesn’t issue arrest warrants.”
Acting Inspector Turner said police had received several reports from people who had received calls from the scammers in recent days.
He said it appeared the scammers targeted particular post codes for a short period of time before moving on to another area.
Orange disability pensioner Patricia Condon said she received a call from scammers who said she owed $16,000 after asking her how much her fortnightly disability pension was.
“They told me I had defrauded the government and would be put behind bars if I didn’t pay,” she said.
“I was very frightening to get that kind of call.”
Ms Condon said she called Centrelink to confirm she owed the money and it was only then she discovered she had been speaking to scammers.
She wanted to warn other pensioners to be cautious.
“It was upsetting. It feels like they’re targeting older people or people on a disability pension,” she said.
The ATO’s Scamwatch website warns the scammers spin a range of stories to entice people to send them cash.
“Be on guard, if you receive a phone call from someone saying you have an arrest warrant and asking you to pay a fee, hang up and do not respond,” the website said.
“If in doubt, don’t use the contact details provided, look up the government department or organisation yourself in the phone book or online and phone or email them.”
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au
