HMRC has called on people to remain vigilant against fraudsters, who are using email and text messages to scam them out of their savings.
The tax authority is currently processing tax refunds for the 2017/18 tax year, which has led to criminals taking advantage of this annual task by tricking individuals into believing they are due to tax rebate.
Treasury Minister Mel Stride MP, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, reminded taxpayers that HMRC will only inform them of a tax refund through the post or through their pay via their employer. All other forms of communication are a scam and should be reported to HMRC’s phishing email.
“We know that criminals will try and use events like the end of the financial year, the self-assessment deadline, and the issuing of tax refunds to target the public and attempt to get them to reveal their personal data. It is important to be alert to the danger,” added Stride.
Dubious websites that attempt to steal people’s information are a focus of HMRC’s effort to tackle fraud. In March 2018, HMRC requested 2,672 phishing websites to be taken down and received 84,549 phishing reports, highlighting the scale of the problem.
