A MAN undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy for cancer has come within seconds of falling victim to scammers masquerading as Australian Tax Office agents.

Panicked by aggressive claims over the phone from the “agents” that his accounts would be frozen and he faced prison if he didn’t pay up immediately, he was just about to hand over his details when he wife arrived home, took charge and chased the thieves off.

He’s not the only local to be targeted in the Australia-wide scam, with local shop owner Gaelle Beech arriving home to a phone message telling her an arrest warrant had been issued against her and she needed to pay up immediately.

The number left for her to call had been disconnected. “I had a full-on panic attack afterwards,” she says. When she called the ATO she was told it was a ruse.

by MARIA BERGWITZ