iscoverThe Tax Office will double down on its data-matching capabilities to protect taxpayers as reports of fraud have significantly surged.
ATO furthers fraudster crackdown with expanded data
14 August 2025
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9 minute read
Following increased reports of criminals defrauding the ATO, its data-matching capabilities have been expanded to safeguard taxpayers from identity crime and attacks.
The new program conducted by the ATO, Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) data matching, was set to outline its use of AFCX data for FY2024–25 to FY2026–27.
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Institute of Public Accountants senior tax adviser Tony Greco said identity fraud was currently another risk to the system, so the ATO was constantly trying to change its risk assessment processes to deal with this emerging threat.
“Data matching capability with AFCX will help in this regard. Receiving this additional data will help the ATO strengthen their systems to help combat identity fraud,” he said.
“The ATO is also reminding everyone that combating identity fraud is a shared responsibility. Most individuals whether they use a tax agent or not are vulnerable as fraudsters can access an individual’s myGov account and commit identity fraud without the individual or tax agent being aware.
“This aspect is falling on deaf ears and the ATO is trying to help individuals deal with identity fraud due to myGov vulnerabilities.”
The ATO noted that following recent events, it was committed to taking action against individuals who took control of others’ bank accounts to facilitate money laundering, with schemes often involving “money mules”.
Money mules referred to the concept or process where people knowingly or unknowingly transferred illegally obtained funds through their personal accounts to hide the trace and origin of the money, according to the ATO.
The new data matching would aim to help the ATO detect and monitor unusual activity through bank accounts and IP addresses to stop fraudulent registrations and lodgements and fraudulent refunds from being issued.
John Ford, deputy commissioner, said the AFCX data would be matched against ATO records and other data holdings to identify bank accounts that were being used in fraudulent activity.
“We anticipate receiving more than half a million records of suspected money mule bank accounts and malicious IP addresses through this program each year,” he said.
“Our existing data-matching capability is already powerful and widespread. Receiving this additional data will strengthen our systems to ensure individuals who commit fraud are caught and held to account.”
To further its financial crime efforts, the ATO joined forces and has worked collaboratively with major banks and other financial institutions to try and minimise the spread since joining the AFCX.
It was noted that the AFCX membership supported the ATO’s $180 million Counter Fraud Program, which was designed to “significantly bolster both the ATO’s ability to tackle fraud against taxpayers and to invest in preventative measures to reduce fraud before it occurs”.
It was recommended for taxpayers to go the extra mile in protecting themselves against fraud by obtaining a myID at a high level, using that myID to link to myGov and the ATO, as well as utilising the ATO app.
Greco noted that based on these suggestions, individuals may not want to do any of those things.
“With the number of databases that have been hacked and the amount of personal information floating in cyber space we have to acknowledge that the risk has increased 10-fold. The benefit of the app is that individuals can lock down their account if they see any unusual activity in real time,” Greco said.
“We understand tax practitioners’ fear of promoting the ATO app as it gives the ATO more power to communicate directly with clients. We need to constantly remind the ATO not to breach this implied undertaking.”
Ford said as reports of fraud have surged, so have the concerns of taxpayers, meaning a priority of the ATO was to crack down on any and all possibilities of fraudulent behaviour.
“The community rightfully expects us to crackdown on things like identity crime, fraud and lodgement of false and fictitious tax forms, and this implements another layer of protection,” he said.
“We’re continuing our focus on preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting serious financial crime activity including identity takeover, money laundering, and serious and organised crime.”
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