Taxman warns on scams ahead of self-assessment deadline
Written by News on 20/11/2019
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned taxpayers to prepare for a surge in activity by fraudsters.
The taxman said it had received almost 900,000 reports over the past year about suspected fraud via phone calls, emails and text message – with cases rising substantially in the run-up to the self-assessment deadline of 31 January.
The vast majority of complaints concerned bogus tax rebates.
Among the most common techniques used by fraudsters include phone calls, supposedly from HMRC, which seek bank details for refunds or threaten imprisonment if a tax bill is not paid immediately.
Another is an email or text containing a link to a bogus HMRC page where bank details and money are taken.
Genuine organisations, including banks, will never contact customers asking for their pin, password or bank details, HMRC said.
Gareth Shaw, head of money at the consumer group Which?, said of the warning: “The number of people targeted by
HMRC scams is staggering and the problem is only likely to get worse as the self-assessment deadline looms.
“Sophisticated tactics like number spoofing see innocent people losing life-changing sums every day – so banks, telecoms companies and firms being targeted must collaborate on developing solutions to halt this worsening crime.
“Victims of HMRC scams often end up being tricked into transferring money to a criminal, and while a new industry code is in place offering greater protections against transfer fraud, the next government must make this mandatory to ensure
all payment providers are signed up to these vital measures.
“Meanwhile, the banking industry and regulators must urgently agree a vital reimbursement fund that ensures all innocent victims have their money returned should they be affected by this devastating crime.”
(c) Sky News 2019: Taxman warns on scams ahead of self-assessment deadline
