Identity theft !

We are constantly urged to lock our mail boxes and clear them regularly. In the computer age identity theft is rife and with a few details criminals can clean out our bank account or run up bills in our name. Unfortunately it has become the practice of many service organizations to require our date of birth as their security question  at point of access.

Now a new avenue of information collection has been revealed.   The Australian Tax office ( ATO ) has a wealth of information on every person in Australia, and this is available to the thousands of tax agents who prepare our tax returns.    Each of the little tax agent's offices scattered throughout every city, town and village in Australia has an access password that allows them to proceed through an agent's portal to the ATO's base computer.

They need three basic pieces of information to gain full access to every persons records.  They need that persons name - date of birth - and tax file number.    With that information, they are able to assume that persons identity, rearrange records and redirect money - without the knowledge of the person involved.

All it takes is for one tax agent to be careless with that vital access password - and a wonderful world of opportunity opens up for the criminal milieu.  It is not hard to gain a persons name, and now that DOB is used as an identity check when accessing a bank, phone company, utility supplier or council - that second piece of the jigsaw falls neatly into place.

Tax file numbers are a difficult nut to crack. If we were dealing with a financial institution and they asked to confirm our tax file number we would probably not be suspicious, but obviously that information would be needed by those preparing our tax returns.   Once again, we hope that security in this plethora of small offices is tight.

It seems that we have been alerted to the one key ingredient necessary to close this method of identity theft.    We need to be vigilant at all times when revealing our tax file number becomes necessary - and this probably involves never - in any circumstances - giving it over the phone.

It is a good rule of thumb to remember that no legitimate organization with a need to record our tax file number would ever ask for it over the phone.   Such a request should immediately start alarm bells ringing in our head.

Tax file numbers are usually included in correspondence from the tax office and financial institutions.   The last line of defence is to be very careful when disposing of such items.   Never discard them in the weekly council pickup - and perhaps investing in a cheap shredder would be a very good idea !