by Greystone
Posted On : 2020-10-08
Given
the amount of Covid-19 financial assistance available, it comes as no surprise
that there is an increase in HMRC-related scams this year.
What is worrying is
that scammers have become more sophisticated; it is no longer a matter of simply ignoring emails offering tax refunds.
Recent scams have targeted the self-employed receiving income support grants,
and, with two further payments to come, the scams are expected to continue.
So
what are the scammers after?
The holy grail for
a scammer is to obtain sufficient personal information to access and empty a
bank account. For instance, a Covid-19 goodwill payment may be conditional on
providing bank details so the funds can purportedly be paid direct into the
account.
As banks strengthen
security, the focus of scams will shift to identity theft, especially where
passport details are involved. Other scams may call for the payment of upfront
fees to help claim a tax refund.
Moving
away from emails
As scam email
detection improves, many scammers have switched to text messaging. Telephone
numbers are spoofed to show HMRC as the sender, with links to very convincing
HMRC-lookalike websites.
Automated
voicemails, voice calls and messages sent via social media are other means of
making initial contact.
Prevention
A bit of common sense will protect you from most scams, although the best ones can be quite convincing. Remember that HMRC will:
If still in doubt,
contact us or check the legitimacy of a proffered tax refund by logging on to
your personal tax account.
HMRC have published examples of phishing
emails and bogus contact here.