In June The Area News reported on elderly residents who were very concerned after receiving a similar call, fearing they may face heavy fines or gaol time if they didn’t respond.

Now a resident, who did not wish to be identified, has come forward with a recording of the message so that others in the community can safeguard themselves against the scam.

The message, which was in an American accent, sounded like it was a computer-generated voice.

“This message is intended for the recipient,” it began.

“This is Paul Mason calling from the audit division of the Australian Taxation Office and this call is in regards to your tax audit.”

The call went on to say the recipient should call 02 6172 0900.

“Do not attempt to disregard this message,” it said.

The resident said she thought it was most definitely a scam.

“I was out when the call came in and they left the message, but this week I’ve had two phone calls and when I picked up, this message came through,” she said.

“What put me on the alert it wasn’t a legitimate call was ‘this is for the recipient’, and they’re not speaking as though they’re having a conversation with you, it’s a recording.

“We rang the taxation department and they said there was a new scam, as soon as we said it was an American voice they said ‘yes we are aware of it’.”

She said she hadn’t tried to call the number at all.

“Sometimes I think out of curiosity if you call that number they can hound you then.”

However, The Area News called the number and got the following message:

“The person you’re trying to reach is not available. Please leave a message after the beep.”

The resident said the best thing to do if someone gets the call is to ignore it.

“I just want to ignore the whole thing. Disregard it, don’t even try and contact them back,” she said.

“The taxation department do not ring you, they will write to you directly. That’s what they told me. Anything that’s legitimate from the taxation department they will not ring you.

“You’ve got to be alert at all times this day and age. There’s still a lot of honest people out there but a lot of scammers and rogues as well.”

Inspector Wilkinson from Griffith police spoke to The Area News in June about phone scams and said if anyone received this sort of phone call they should hang up immediately and report the matter to their local police station or the police assistance line on 131 444.

“Any sort of solicitation of funds over the phone should be treated with suspicion, no government department engages in that sort of activity,” Inspector Wilkinson said.