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Belinda Luc
The Australian Taxation office has warned estate agents to beware of accepting dodgy rental cheques.
According to Taxation Commissioner Michael D’Ascenzo, a number of counterfeit cheques have been found in circulation in recent weeks.
Many of which are supposedly issued for an overpayment of rental accommodation, often near universities, and requests the ‘overpayment’ - often thousands of dollars - be returned via wired transfer to the issuer.
The cheques are supposedly issued by the ATO and drawn on the Reserve Bank of Australia.
“The counterfeit cheques are realistic in look and feel authentic; only after being put through a fluorescent scanner are they revealed to be fakes,” Mr D’Ascenzo said.
“I urge the public to be diligent and alert to scam behaviour. If you feel something is suspicious alert the ATO or other federal authority as soon as possible,” Mr D’Ascenzo said.
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