Beware of unexpected tax refunds…

One of our clients has recently received an email from “securemail@hmrc.gov.uk” with the apparently welcome news that he was entitled to receive a tax refund.  Unfortunately all was not quite as it seemed….

The “phishing” scam asked for bank or credit card details so the fictitious tax refund can be paid out. These details are used to access a person's bank account, or passed on to other criminals.

HMRC chief executive Lesley Strathie said the department only contacts customers who are due a refund in writing by post.

"We never use emails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances. I would strongly encourage anyone receiving such an email to immediately send it to us for investigation and delete it from their computer," he said.

The scam email often begins with a sentence such as: "Following a review of your fiscal activity you are due a refund of tax of £XXX".

HMRC is taking action to disrupt these attacks and says co-operation with other law enforcement agencies in the UK and overseas has seen a number of scam networks shut down most recently in July in Korea, Thailand, UK and the US.

In the last 12 months HMRC has received more than 15,000 reports of fraudulent repayment emails.

Suspicious emails can be forwarded to HMRC at phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

We have already reported this particular incident to H M Revenue & Customs on our client’s behalf, but please be very careful to check with us before responding to any such emails.