HMRC has been in touch with specific universities and asked them to warn their student population about a new fake HMRC email scam. The list includes: Warwick, University College London, Sussex, Southampton, Queen Mary, Queen’s, Plymouth, Nottingham, Newcastle, Manchester Metropolitan University, King’s College London, Imperial College London, Durham, Cambridge, Bristol and Aberdeen.
What does the fake HMRC scam say to students?
This is the first time that criminals, trying to defraud the public by pretending to be HMRC, have targeted students. The fake emails tell students that they are owed a tax rebate and request bank details in order to process the refund. Sometimes the emails also include links to phishing websites that only exist to steal information.
Why do people fall for these scams?
People are often embarrassed to admit that they have been taken in by such scammers. But it is important to realise just how good lots of the fake emails are. They have the correct HMRC logo, include the real address and phone number and use email addresses that contain convincing elements such as uc.ac.uk. They can also include copies of logos from GOV.UK and other famous financial companies to add to their authenticity.
They are not like the more obvious free bitcoin or I am a Prince, please help me scams. The criminals using HMRC as a cover are more sophisticated and change their premise to fit the time of the financial year, as well as their target taxpayer.
Slow down and think before you click
Many of us are moving through life at quite a pace and respond to most messages quickly. That’s one of the characteristics that enable this type of scam to work. You get an email from HMRC, you thought you might be due tax relief for the work you did during the summer and you click on the link and enter your bank details without thinking. Just because it looks official, it doesn’t mean it’s legitimate. Unfortunately, a suspicious attitude is a necessary requirement for your cyber security.
It may be worth checking your HMRC personal tax account which should show if you are owed a tax rebate.
How do I know if an HMRC email is real?
HMRC do not ask you for your bank details, or any other personal information by text, voicemail or email. The only way they inform you that you are owed a tax refund, is by actual paper mail.
The financial secretary to the Treasury, Mel Stride, said: “HMRC will never inform you about tax refunds by email, text or voicemail. If you receive one of these messages, it is a scam. Do not click on any links in these messages, and forward them to HMRC’s phishing email address.”
This makes it entirely straightforward and easy to avoid, just think before you click.
Where do I forward my fake HMRC email to?
It is important to forward any fake HMRC emails to [email protected]. Even if you didn’t lose any money or click on any damaging links. This helps HMRC and Action Fraud build up a national picture of the situation. Send suspicious texts to 60599.
HMRC constantly ask for phishing sites to be removed in their battle against this type of fraud. Just this year, between April and September, they sought the deactivation of 7,500 sites. That’s 2,000 more than the same time last year.
As the director of Action Fraud, Pauline Smith, told the Independent: “Devious fraudsters will try every trick in the book to convince victims to hand over their personal information, often with devastating consequences. It is vital that students spot the signs of fraudulent emails to avoid falling victim by following HMRC’s advice.” Even if your university isn’t currently on the list above, take heed of this early warning and protect your private information from fraudsters.
If you are a student and would like to find out more about income tax and being a student you can use our free student tax guide.
We also offer a range of free money guides and calculators to support you with things like personal budgets, credit cards and there’s even a money health check from the money advice service.
