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The accounting body is warning taxpayers to be wary of scams in the form of emails, text messages and other communications this upcoming tax time.
Be wary of all tax time communication, says CPA
11 June 2025
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8 minute read
CPA Australia has issued a warning to the community to be careful of all tax time communications that could potentially be a scam, particularly those that “arrive in the inbox overnight designed to catch people off-guard in the morning”.
The warning comes after data from the National Anti-Scam Centre revealed a significant increase in scam losses in the first four months of 2025, with the biggest increase in reported losses coming from phishing scams.
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The data showed the reported losses accounted for $13.7 million in losses, compared to $4.6 million in early 2024, which was backed by the ATO having said that impersonation email scams had increased by more than 300 per cent in comparison to this time last year.
Jenny Wong, CPA tax lead, said Australians should prepare for a deluge of scam activity in the lead-up to 30 June.
“Scammers take advantage of any situation, and at tax time that means targeting unsuspecting individuals through unsolicited messages claiming to be the ATO or another reputable organisation,” she said.
“These ‘phishing’ scams not only look legitimate, but they’re designed to catch you off-guard. That’s why you’ll often see them arrive first thing in the morning because you may be more likely to have a momentary lapse in judgement.”
According to CPA, scam emails usually had titles that resembled ‘urgent new notification in your account inbox’, which would then direct individuals to log into their myGov account and claimed to provide a secure link.
CPA said these messages attempted to trick individuals to click the link to see ‘official government correspondence’, an ‘update regarding your benefits’, ‘a new refund notification’, or they need to click to ‘avoid being penalised’.
These messages also encouraged individuals to ‘keep checking their inbox to stay informed about important updates related to their tax, pension and other government services’.
The body said to distinguish between legitimate and scam messages from the ATO, taxpayers should look for any grammatical errors and unusual language, the use of hyperlinks in unsolicited SMS messages, the sender’s address, unexpected requests for personal or financial information and the use of unverified social media accounts.
Wong said if taxpayers were still unsure, messages and communication could always be verified by contacting the ATO.
“The scammers know Australians will have tax on their mind and are vulnerable to prompts to act, which is why these messages usually create a sense of urgency or claim of a significant refund,” she said.
“While they could come at any time, be especially careful opening up and reading messages while you’re still waking up in the morning. It’s crucial to see through the lies and review these communications with a clear mind once you’ve started your day and had a coffee or two.”
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