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The TikTok GST fraud that was exposed in 2022 seems to be worse than initially thought. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has admitted that it paid out over $1.6 billion to scammers as part of a $4.6 billion fraud promoted across TikTok and other social media platforms.
How the TikTok GST scam worked
While TikTok has been closely tied to the scam over the past couple of years, it’s worth noting that it didn’t originate there. However, the platform is responsible for it going viral due to the number of users promoting it there.
The scam itself involved people acquiring an Australian Business Number (ABN) for a sham business and utilising MyGov to submit falsified business activity statements to receive GST refunds.
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