The ATO has upgraded an app designed to protect SMSF practitioners and members with an additional feature that identifies whether calls are from the regulator or a scammer.
In an update on its website, the regulator stated the new verify call feature in its app would allow users who have registered their device to confirm in real time that they were speaking with someone from the ATO when receiving a call.
“When taxpayers receive a call from someone claiming to be from the ATO, they simply need to open the ATO app, log in and select the verify call option,” it said.
“Within 30 seconds, a notification should confirm it is an ATO call. If it doesn’t appear, users should treat it as a scam call and hang up.”
The new feature expands existing fraud controls in the app, such as real-time messages when changes are made to the account of a taxpayer and account locking to prevent unauthorised access or fraudulent activity.
Almost 7500 tax office impersonation scams were reported in July 2025 with scammers increasing their activity during tax time and ATO assistant commissioner Anita Challen said the new feature meant taxpayers could shut down scam calls and protect their accounts.
“Scammers are becoming increasingly savvy, making it harder for individuals to distinguish between illegitimate and genuine contact,” Challen said.
“This powerful security measure means fraudsters will find it harder to pretend to impersonate the ATO. Australians will have more control of their accounts and more certainty that they are dealing with the real tax office.”
The ATO noted the most secure way to sign in to the app and its online services was to use myID and taxpayers should not engage with any suspicious call, SMS, email or social media message, but verify and report any possible scams, and contact it immediately if personal information or payments have been shared with a scammer.
