Major tax return fraud uncovered by ATO, police

The arrest of the 25-year-old man follows a joint investigation between the ATO, the Financial and Cyber Crime Group and the State Crime Command.

It is alleged that the man has been linked to 63 fraudulent tax return lodgements via myTax, from September 2015 to July 2016.

Officers also identified 42 bank accounts allegedly opened in the man’s name, linked to 54 unique tax file number (TFN) identity takeovers, with the alleged fraud totalling $566,762.

“These alleged crimes are serious,” said ATO deputy commissioner Will Day.

“For those who deliberately try to defraud the Commonwealth and rip off honest taxpayers, our message is simple – you will be caught, and you will face prosecution.

“The ATO uses sophisticated data analysis tools to catch criminals who attempt to break the law.”

Mr Day said the arrest was a timely reminder to all taxpayers to keep their identifying information, like tax file numbers, bank account details and their date of birth, secure.

“Fraudsters can steal personal identification information using various methods from sources outside of the ATO,” said Mr Day.

“This information is then used to impersonate ATO clients and lodge fraudulent tax returns.”