A caller says you owe the ATO tax and police are coming unless you pay by gift card
A caller claims to be from the ATO saying you have unpaid tax and there is a warrant for your arrest. Pay immediately by Bitcoin, iTunes/Google Play cards, or bank transfer to a "holding account" — or police, AFP officers, and Immigration will come to your address. The ATO never demands payment by gift card and never threatens arrest by phone.
Also known as: fake ATO tax debt call, ATO arrest warrant scam, Australian Taxation Office phone scam, myGov / ATO impersonation call
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
- 1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
- 2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
- 3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.
What to do right now
- 1 Hang up. The ATO does not threaten arrest or demand payment by phone. Real ATO tax debts are notified by letter to your myGov inbox and resolved via https://www.ato.gov.au
- 2 Check your actual tax position by logging into myGov at https://my.gov.au — type the URL yourself, do not use any link the caller sends
- 3 Verify by calling the ATO on 1800 008 540 (the ATO's Scam reporting line) or the number on your last ATO letter — never call back the number that just rang you
- 4 If you have already sent money or gift-card codes, contact your bank and the gift-card issuer immediately — some transactions can be reversed within hours
- 5 Report to Scamwatch at https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/report-a-scam or ReportCyber at https://www.cyber.gov.au/report.
Red flags
- ⚠ A caller claims to be from the ATO and threatens arrest, deportation, or an AFP warrant for unpaid tax
- ⚠ Payment demanded by Bitcoin, iTunes gift cards, Google Play cards, Amazon vouchers, or cardless cash — the ATO never accepts these
- ⚠ You are told not to hang up while you drive to a Bitcoin ATM or newsagent to buy the cards
- ⚠ Caller ID displays a real ATO number (13 28 61) or an 02 Canberra number — this is number spoofing, not proof
- ⚠ The caller has some real information about you (name, address) — data brokers and past breaches supply these details
- ⚠ A second 'AFP officer' or 'Immigration officer' comes on the line during the same call to reinforce the urgency
Known variants
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'Australia Post fine' variant: caller pretends to be from Australia Post claiming you have unpaid customs duty on a parcel and threatens the parcel will be destroyed and you'll be fined by ATO/AFP for smuggling. Payment by gift card demanded. Same script, different pretext.
Last seen: 6/10/2026