Scam referrals rise warn HMRC
HMRC is warning people to be wary of bogus tax refund offers in the wake of the self-assessment deadline.
The January self-assessment deadline may now be a distant memory to many.
However the tax authority says that fraudsters often target self-assessment taxpayers in the months following their self-assessment submission.
More than 11.5 million self-employed people submitted a tax return by the January deadline (though over a million missed it).
HMRC has warned that taxpayers who completed their tax return for the 2022/23 tax year by the deadline might receive an email, phone call or text message offering them a tax rebate.
These ‘phishing scams’ are designed to use personal details for selling on to criminals, or to access people's bank accounts, says HMRC.
It is issuing a warning to people not to be taken in by them.
The warning comes after HMRC responded to 207,800 referrals from the public of suspicious contact in the past year to January.
This is a 14% increase from the 181,873 reported for the previous 12 months. More than 79,000 of those referrals offered bogus tax rebates.
Kelly Paterson, HMRC's Chief Security Officer, said: “With the deadline for tax returns behind us, criminals will now try to trick people with fake offers of tax rebates.
“Scammers will attempt to dupe people by email, phone or texts that mimic government messages to make them appear authentic.”
Director at The Hollies Bookkeeping Services in Shropshire, said that people should contact them if they receive a communication regarding a tax rebate they aren’t sure about.
“Unfortunately, it’s quite common for people to be contacted, usually in our experience by email, to say they are due a rebate.
“The emails can look really genuine. But HMRC won’t ask for your bank details - if you are due a rebate it will come from more official channels so please check with us if in doubt.”
Please feel free to contact us here at The Hollies Bookkeeping on 01743 790086 or email info@holliesbookkeeping.co.uk
Internet link: HMRC press release