A fresh warning has been issued about a telephone scam that could be targeting small business owners and umbrella company contractors.
HMRC issued the warning after receiving reports that fraudsters were making calls and claiming to be from the Revenue. The caller informed victims that they were due a tax rebate and asked them to divulge their personal bank details over the telephone.
There has also been an increase in the amount of phishing emails, supposedly from HMRC, asking for bank details. In the last 3 months, the authorities have shut down over 180 of the websites responsible for these mails, but more keep springing up.
Victims of these attacks could find their bank accounts emptied and other organised criminal gangs may get hold of their personal details.
Chris Hopson, from the Revenue, confirmed that they never use telephone or email as a means of informing customers they are due an income tax refund; they always send the letter by post.
HMRC strongly advises people not to divulge personal information over the phone, but contact the police immediately. And if they receive an email purporting to be from the Revenue, they are advised to send it to HMRC so that they can investigate.
It’s not only tax rebates that are used as bait in these scams. Income support and child benefit claims, lottery winnings and ironically, compensation for being the victim of a fraud, are other topics that have been used by scammers.
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