Scammers threaten resident with jail

Cranbrook resident Janelle Jones has described her threatening phone call from scammers posing as Australian Taxation Office employees as aggressive and frightening.

Ms Jones received the phone call last Tuesday morning, when scammers aggressively accused her of running from the taxation office after ignoring notification letters, which would result in her arrest and potential jail time.

"They said I was on three charges and there was a warrant for my arrest and in about half an hour or so the local police would be arriving," Ms Jones said.

"I was shocked, and slightly shaken up; I explained to them that I had not received the notifications and that I do all my tax through an accountant, but he kept telling me an accountant is third party and I was the one in trouble."

The scammers knew Ms Jones's details, did not ask for any money initially and were very persistent she said.

"They knew my details, my name and address and every time I asked a question they would have an answer for it, I even asked for a reference number and they gave me one, you could see how people can be trapped."

Second commissioner Geoff Leeper said ATO made thousands of outbound calls to taxpayers a week, but there were some key differences between a legitimate call from the ATO and a call from a potential scammer.

"We would never cold call you about a debt," he said. "We would never threaten jail or arrest, and our staff certainly wouldn't behave in aggressive manner."

Ms Jones had heard about previous scammers targeting Albany residents, and said people should always remain cautious.