Tax boss warns of ID theft
Millions of Australian taxpayers are at a greater risk of falling victim to tax fraud and identity theft than ever before, the top tax official has warned.
In one of his last major public addresses before stepping down at the end of the month, tax commissioner Chris Jordan said the agency had recorded a significant rise in fraud.
He said employees were increasingly being ripped off by their employers, who withhold tax and super from their wages, and also flagged an increase in identity theft.
“We cannot allow that to stand, especially the super for employees,” Mr Jordan told the National Press Club.
“Meanwhile, the risk of sophisticated fraud attempts through the increase in enormous data theft will only continue to grow.
“We are working to harden our systems and are putting measures in place to help people.”
Mr Jordan, who is due to leave on February 26, said he thought the tax agency had made significant progress during his 11-year term.
He said the agency’s “landmark victories” in getting multinationals such as Apple, BHP, Facebook, Microsoft and Google to pay billions more in tax helped to lead a significant shift in global attitudes towards tax compliance.
But he said fraud was the newest threat.
“What is of concern to me now is what I refer to as the industrialisation of identity theft through large-scale cyber breaches,” he said.
“So, you look at … Optus – the pool of information they have on people that can be used to create an identity of someone that is not that person using it is enormous.”