its a long story but essentially, last october (2025) i got a call from my university letting me know a person with my exact details (same name, birthday and TFN) had their tax agent contact the university to try unenrol. So, i tried to check myGOV and ATO accounts but it wouldnt log me in and was lagging so i figured i was scammed. i called the ATO assistance and originally they denied any identification that i was me and hung up on me, frustrating. I called again to another helpful ATO person and after 3 hours on the phone they realised I was not scammed, but me and another person with my name and birthday applied for a TFN around the same time, so they accidentally gave us the same TFN. The chances.
The ATO person said they would sort it out and send me a new TFN but it’s almost 6 months later and im looking for employment and need a TFN. I was able to apply for a new TFN in January but the website is still failing me and so I can’t register it. I have called again since and they refuse to help me access my account due to my failings to answer questions correctly based on info that I would only know via access to my account. It’s a cycle and conundrum. I am unable to resolve this due to the restrictive identification process and the ATO assistance continually denying that I AM ME - I don’t know what to do.
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