sixpackad25 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Hey all, hoping there maybe a few experts out there who can help me with this, its a long story but I'll try and keep it as short as possible Back in June 2012 I was due to leave Australia and move back to the UK due to the expiry of my WHV. With it being the end of the tax year I nominated the money to be put into my friends account and that he was to transfer the money once he received it, I found out later that year when calling the ATO that he had called them pretending to be me changing details on my account (had trouble verifying my own account when I called) and from there had taken and spent all of my money I have been dealing with a few personal issues and wanted them sorted before I went down the legal route but last week I contacted the police and they said this would be a civil matter which has left me confused. I understand that I nominated his account and that if he took my money then it would be pretty much my fault but the fact that he called the ATO pretending to be me with clear intent on taking my money is where I have the issue The guy I'm dealing with in polite terms is not a very nice guy, he's smug and he thinks he has gotten away with stealing my money he also has previous for fraud and has spent time in jail for it, he was my best mate at the time but all this has come to light since leaving along with a few other things Appreciate any input into this Thank all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Are you currently in the UK or Australia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 With previous for fraud, why on earth did you trust him ??? Good luck and i hope you can get your money back, have you tried threatening him with legal action? Make sure everything is written down so you have it as proof if you do talk to him. Cal x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celt Down Under Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 (edited) Hey all, hoping there maybe a few experts out there who can help me with this, its a long story but I'll try and keep it as short as possible Back in June 2012 I was due to leave Australia and move back to the UK due to the expiry of my WHV. With it being the end of the tax year I nominated the money to be put into my friends account and that he was to transfer the money once he received it, I found out later that year when calling the ATO that he had called them pretending to be me changing details on my account (had trouble verifying my own account when I called) and from there had taken and spent all of my money I have been dealing with a few personal issues and wanted them sorted before I went down the legal route but last week I contacted the police and they said this would be a civil matter which has left me confused. I understand that I nominated his account and that if he took my money then it would be pretty much my fault but the fact that he called the ATO pretending to be me with clear intent on taking my money is where I have the issue The guy I'm dealing with in polite terms is not a very nice guy, he's smug and he thinks he has gotten away with stealing my money he also has previous for fraud and has spent time in jail for it, he was my best mate at the time but all this has come to light since leaving along with a few other things Appreciate any input into this Thank all A harsh lesson in life where the saying that a fool and his money are soon parted rings true. Unless the amount was substantial, and a lot more than what the legal fees would be, put it down to experience and move on. You could warn all your mutual friends, so that they too are not parted from their money as easily. Edited November 24, 2014 by Celt Down Under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Small claims court perhaps. I'm not sure how you're going to prove it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Defrauding ATO is nasty indeed. Proving it another matter entirely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 A harsh lesson in life where the saying that a fool and his money are soon parted rings true. Unless the amount was substantial, and a lot more than what the legal fees would be, put it down to experience and move on. You could warn all your mutual friends, so that they too are not parted from their money as easily. Wise words. I suspect everyone can remember a time when they were ripped off by someone. It really irks at the time realising that someone has got away with it but the lesson learned can be invaluable for later life. Yes, you become more cynical but such cynicism is necessary IMO. The world is full of crooks and shysters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Is a substantial sum or just a few hundred dollars? If it is just a bit- forget it and stop dealing with this crook. Lie down with dogs you get fleas, as they say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 If you had already arranged for it to be paid into his bank account then why did he need to pretend to be you, and how do you know he did? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gbye grey sky Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 If you had already arranged for it to be paid into his bank account then why did he need to pretend to be you, and how do you know he did? Good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpackad25 Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 @sky, totally agree, harsh lesson definitely learned here regardless of the outcome @blossom79, that was clearly an error on his part, if he just allowed the money to go into his account then he would've gotten away with it. He admitted it to me via text which I have kept also when I called the ATO I couldn't verify my account, it had his email and contact number, he called before the tax was paid so I'm assuming he did this so I wouldn't receive any notification of the tax being paid Thanks for the response all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatpack Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 Catch up with him when you're over here and beat 10 shades of sh!t out of him, you still won't have your money but at least some justice will have been served. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpackad25 Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Catch up with him when you're over here and beat 10 shades of sh!t out of him, you still won't have your money but at least some justice will have been served. Don't condone violence but if anyone deserves a slap its this guy, I've restrained from sending him threatening texts as this would look bad on me and used against me, so much more has come to light on this guy, hopefully karma will come to him one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Yes this makes no sense. You asked for the money to be put in his account. It was. He kept it. I'm not sure why he would even bother ringing up the ATO. Nevertheless, have you contacted the ATO? They may have a recording of his telephone call. Really though, you trusted a significant amount of money to a person with fraud convictions. Chalk it up to experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thombatt Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Have you thought of going to the Ato and telling them they made a change to your account without your authorisation and that they must pay to the original nominated account, then they can chase your "friend". He may not be so smug then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fisheys Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 OK I feel sorry for you, but I am wondering why you did not ask ATO to put the money in your own account. Was it overdrawn, was there a credit card linked to it, is your landlord chasing you? I am very hopeful that you can answer "no" to all these points. If you can, then what I would do is contact the Federal MP for the area you lived in, and explain to him or her that ATO altered the destination bank account for your refund following a fraudulent act, and so you would like your rebate. ATO do record all calls, but they would have asked certain identity questions, so again, you may well struggle to get anywhere. I would write to the Australian Police in the area either that you lived, or your friend does, and tell them that you are the victim of fraud, and believe that you are as entitled to the protection of the law just like the rest of us. Even if the police prosecute the guy, and even if he is convicted, he cannot easily be forced to repay the money, but in the event of a conviction you could make him bankrupt if he doesn't pay you. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixpackad25 Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 OK I feel sorry for you, but I am wondering why you did not ask ATO to put the money in your own account.Was it overdrawn, was there a credit card linked to it, is your landlord chasing you? I am very hopeful that you can answer "no" to all these points. If you can, then what I would do is contact the Federal MP for the area you lived in, and explain to him or her that ATO altered the destination bank account for your refund following a fraudulent act, and so you would like your rebate. ATO do record all calls, but they would have asked certain identity questions, so again, you may well struggle to get anywhere. I would write to the Australian Police in the area either that you lived, or your friend does, and tell them that you are the victim of fraud, and believe that you are as entitled to the protection of the law just like the rest of us. Even if the police prosecute the guy, and even if he is convicted, he cannot easily be forced to repay the money, but in the event of a conviction you could make him bankrupt if he doesn't pay you. Good luck. No to all those point Fisheye, I was just leaving unlikely to be back on a permanent basis and stupidly thought this would be the easiest way. I wasn't in the county a t the time of the call, I lived with him for a while and he was able to verify with a pay slip with had my tax file number on it, I'm not sure what other security questions they ask you I have just contacted the federal mp for area I lived in and explained the situation so I'll wait on that but has mentioned before the the police emailed me back saying this would be a civil matter which I don't understand seen as he called the ATO pretending to me then taking my money which is a case of financial fraud, I replied back explaining this and I'm still waiting to here back, I just get the impression that its not being taken seriously which is a big surprise to me Its got to the point where its not all about the money anymore, with previous for fraud and defrauding the ATO I'd be more than happy to see him serve time for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diane Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 If the Ato have a recording of his call you could ask if they use voice recognition software. I heard a guy on the radio saying this is actually widely used in Australia and if on making a call you get a message to the effect that the call is being recorded "for security and training purposes" chances are they are using it. If you have/had previously spoken to them so they had yr voice imprint this may be a way of proving he was committing a deliberate deception when he called. If so, then you may have an argument that they should not have made the changes and be able to get the money from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 If you have willingly given someone else all your personal information that would allow someone to be verified over the phone, eg TFN, DOB, Full Name, Address etc. If you gave someone all that private information the tax office have done absolutely nothing wrong. You are at fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Why didn't you just leave an account in oz, or ask the ato to pay to the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ptp113 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Something here just ain't right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack91 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 This all seems a little fishy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I am afraid after two and a half years, people are going to ask why you didn't deal with this sooner. On the face of it, you left your financial affairs in the hands of someone you knew to have previous form for fraud; he ripped you off; and it has taken you two and a half years to try to address the situation. Your ex-friend will simply deny changing the details and say that you had made an arrangement to transfer the money to him in return for something. The ATO will say they have no longer got a record of the call and it is your word against your ex-friend; they will say that they have security measures in place to prevent impersonation and in order for someone to have impersonated you, you must have given them personal information for the express purpose of impersonating you. The ATO will say they have no reason to believe they made the payment against your wishes - and the fact that by your own admission you had nominated your ex-friend to be the recipient will support them on this. Therefore, your complaint is against your ex-friend who you believe owes you money. That's a civil matter. You should also be aware that your actions sound dodgy even if they were not; you would not find a court naturally inclined to sympathiese with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quillian Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Hi, Regret to say that after being taken a few time I know the authorities will do b..... all to help unless you can put together a watertight case of fraud. Even then it's hard. I was defrauded of $220K by a "friendly" financial advisor back in the 80's ; after 5 years I got max. compensation from FIMBRA (£90K) and the FBI locked us the US end of the fraud - mut the 2nd in charge of the UK Fraud Squad (Myer) told me Mrs T discouraged prosecution of white collar crims ecause too many of her "ones of us" were involved. That wa smy first lesson of "too good to be true...! Never trust anyone with money; the best people go rotten. Give it to them - or keep it from them, No half measures - or no friends Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.