Fraudsters are using email to rob unsuspecting taxpayers by promising them a tax rebate. The sophisticated email phishing scam, thought to be being carried out by criminals abroad, fools victims into believing that HMRC are contacting them regarding a legitimate tax rebate.
Tax Rebate Email Scam…
The emails are well timed to arrive as January’s self-assessment tax deadline approaches. They use a counterfeit email address; [email protected] and encourage recipients to click on a link enticing them to claim their ‘refund’. The link takes those who click on it to a very convincing duplicate of HMRC’s own website. Here the victim is pressed to divulge bank details, passwords and even credit card details. Those who do give this information risk having money stolen from their bank accounts or their personal details used for identity fraud.
It is also worth knowing that if you have made a uniform rebate claim for example, you will only receive confirmation by post and not by email. So if you have made a tax rebate claim recently, and receive an email from HMRC stating you are due a tax refund it would normally only be a coincidence.
In light of this recent scam, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs have advised the public to be wary of any emails claiming to be from them. HMRC never email tax rebate details, these documents are always sent by post. A Revenue spokesman recommends, if an e mail is received, not to click on any links and to forward the e mail to [email protected] before deleting the original.
