Tax Time 2026: How ATO protects your financial data

Cyber fraud is not going to stop overnight.

It will continue to become more sophisticated and pervasive as time goes on.

Which means this third episode in the tax time 2026 series is even more relevant today as it focuses on fraud risks and how you can protect your financial data.

With guest expertise from Jade Hawkins, assistant commissioner in the ATO's fraud and criminal behaviours business line, and hosted by CPA Australia's tax lead Jenny Wong, deep dive into the ATO's counter-fraud program, emerging scam trends and the practical tools now available to strengthen digital security across the tax system ahead of tax time 2026.

Additionally, explore new features in the ATO app that give taxpayers more control over their accounts to the steps agents can take to protect their clients and their own practices from new threats.

In this episode, you will also gain expert information on:

why identity theft and frauds are becoming more sophisticated

what tax agents can do to protect clients and their own practices

the most common fraud and cyber-attack techniques targeting the sector

why strong myID settings and multifactor authentication matter

how phishing, malware and credential stuffing attacks are evolving

what happens when a taxpayer's account is compromised.