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HMRC warn tax payers to watch out for self assessment scams

HM Revenue and Customs have warned tax payers to be on their guard against fraudsters as they complete they self-assessment forms after 800,000 scams were reported in the last year.

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Fraudsters copy HMRC emails to scam customers

Fraudsters have found countless ways to use the system to defraud individuals and the tax office, HMRC received 360,000 bogus tax rebate referrals in 12 months.

HMRC send out four million emails and text messages and fraudsters have become adept at copying them to fish for personal details of potential fraud victims.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services, said: "Never let yourself be rushed. If someone contacts you saying they’re from HMRC, wanting you to urgently transfer money or give personal information, be on your guard.

"HMRC will also never ring up threatening arrest. Only criminals do that. Scams come in many forms. Some threaten immediate arrest for tax evasion, others offer a tax rebate. Contacts like these should set alarm bells ringing, so if you are in any doubt whether the email, phone call or text is genuine, you can check the ‘HMRC scams’ advice on GOV.UK and find out how to report them to us."

Criminals use emails, phone calls and text messages to try and dupe individuals, and often mimic government messages to make them appear authentic. They want to trick their victims into handing over money or personal or financial information.

Customers can report suspicious phone calls using a form on GOV.UK; customers can also forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599.

HMRC has a dedicated team working on cyber and phone crimes and since 2017 these technical controls have prevented 500 million emails from reaching HMRC’s customers.

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