Police issue urgent warning over HMRC scam spike as expert slams 'believable' letters
Police in part of the UK have issued a warning after a big spike in scam emails - at the same time "believable" letters are also doing the rounds.
There has been a huge spike in the number of serious HMRC scam emails and letters doing the rounds recently, with the public urged to stay vigilant to avoid losing large sums of money.
On Monday afternoon (19 August), North Wales Police issued an urgent warning following an increase in the number of HMRC scam emails reported to Action Fraud recently, The Leader reports.
A spokesman explained: "HMRC scams are nothing new and are something that most people are aware of.
"However there has been a spike in this particular type of email recently with over 700 reported to Action Fraud so far this month. The emails state that the recipient is owed a tax refund, and so it may be very tempting to click on the link to find out more.
"However, the links provided in the scam emails lead to genuine-looking phishing websites that are designed to steal your personal and financial information. If you receive suspicious emails claiming to be from the HMRC you can report them by forwarding the emails to: phishing@hmrc.gov.uk"
Just one day before that, on Sunday August 18, INews reported on an HMRC scam letter that is currently doing the rounds in the UK, which is the most believable a tax expert they spoke to had ever seen.
The scammers are claiming to be a tax compliance team, asking for firms to send over VAT returns and bank statements which “could trick people into thinking it’s really from HMRC,” Sajid Ghufoor, director of tax investigations at Azets, a specialist accountants, told the publication.
The letter was originally received by a client of Azets and looks very realistic. The letter claims to have been sent in response to a “government initiative” aimed at “verifying declared income" and asks for extremely sensitive information, including business bank statements and VAT returns.
These details could allow fraudsters to take out loans and money in the company’s name, running up gigantic bills and repayments as a result.
Ghufoor told INews: “This is probably the best scam letter I have seen as this time they have sought to use a HMRC team and use the right technical legislation and language – previously other have used non-UK tax legislation.”
A picture of the letter was also shared on X (formerly Twitter) by tax expert Dan Neidle, who wrote: “This is a very smart/evil scam. The web savvy will immediately spot the dodgy email address, but I bet plenty won’t.”
HMRC warn: "To help our investigations report all HMRC related phishing emails, suspicious phone calls and text messages. Even if you get the same or similar scam contacts often, report them.
"Do not open attachments or click any links in an unexpected email or text message, as they may contain malicious software or direct you to a misleading website. Delete any emails or texts once you’ve reported them."
You can read all of HMRC's advice on scams and phishing here.
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