# ATO: How to protect your small business from criminals



## Jack Malarkey (Jan 11, 2016)

From the Australian Taxation Office’s small business newsroom:









How to protect your small business from criminals


A new Identikit will help you recognise serious financial crime.




www.ato.gov.au






*How to protect your small business from criminals*








*8 September 2021*

Can you spot a financial criminal? Do you know how to protect your small business from serious financial crime?

Knowing how to spot serious financial criminals could help protect you and your business.

While ‘hardcore' criminals might be easy to spot, other criminals like the ‘lieutenant’ and ‘the enabler’ might not be. They could be customers who pay in cash or business associates with a sudden increase in wealth (such as boats, cars, homes or jewellery).

The Serious Financial Crime Taskforce has released an Identikit to help you better understand how serious financial crime affects the community, the kinds of criminals involved and warning signs to look out for.

The Identikit includes:

a series of criminal ‘personas’, how they can be spotted and what to do if you see something suspicious
a checklist of key warning signs
tips for protecting yourself and your business from cybercrime.
If you recognise any of the signs of serious financial crime or see anything that doesn’t seem right, report it to the ATO.

*Next steps:*

Call our hotline on *1800 060 062*
Making a tip-off
*Find out about:*

Serious Financial Crime Identikit
Listen to our podcast Tax inVoice - serious financial criminals: lying, cheating thieves


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