Elaborate online job scam steals dozens of identities

Relevant impacts: Human impact, reputational impact, financial impact and business impact

A Brisbane man used two aliases to arrange an elaborate online job scam through various companies to steal the identities of 52 taxpayers. He lodged 62 fraudulent income tax returns and attempted to obtain over $565,000 in refunds. After conducting fake interviews over the phone the fraudster would email applicants to confirm they had been successful in their application for the job. He would also request a scanned copy of their driver’s license, bank account details, tax file number and shirt size. He used this information to fraudulently create myGov accounts. If they already had an account he used the information to take over their account and change the details as required. He would then link the myGov accounts to Australian Taxation Office’s online services where he would lodge false income tax returns in their names. The man was charged with 106 offences and was sentenced to 5 years in prison.