I am an identity theft/scam victim and I unfortunately provided personal information including bank details to this scammer. To my surprise I recently lodged my tax return and received confirmation of a refund. As I logged into my gov account to check progress, my bank details were changed by scammer with unknown bank details to divert funds from ATO transferring into my same personal bank account (which I have used for previous tax returns) to this unknown account. I have re-entered my previous bank details but system mentioned to call office to update as my attempt will not be in effect due to return in progress to financial institution. I called ATO - report a scam line and extra measures are now in place but I am yet to receive any updates about recovering funds to my bank account. As well as verification of my bank details being updated. I cannot access ATO online due to scam alert which is understandable but, I cannot access anyone to take my call to verify my identity to see whereabouts things are with my refund. If you can please help, I would appreciate it thank you.
325 views
1 replies
Hello @mls234
Sorry to hear you were targeted by scammers.
You've done the right thing by contacting us so we can add extra security to your account.
This will likely cause a delay when processing refunds on your account. If a refund was paid to the scammers bank account, we can try to recover the amount, but the timeframe depends on the bank.
If you want to check the progress, I suggest giving us a call first thing in the morning (8:00am) when our phone queues are less busy.
All replies
Hello @mls234
Sorry to hear you were targeted by scammers.
You've done the right thing by contacting us so we can add extra security to your account.
This will likely cause a delay when processing refunds on your account. If a refund was paid to the scammers bank account, we can try to recover the amount, but the timeframe depends on the bank.
If you want to check the progress, I suggest giving us a call first thing in the morning (8:00am) when our phone queues are less busy.
Featured articles
20 June 2024 · 3 min read time
6 Feb 2026 · 4 min read time
24 Aug 2025 · 3 min read time