Spoof HMRC communications
24 April 2018
HMRC routinely receive information about scammers using sophisticated methods to spoof legitimate HMRC communication. The spoof HMRC communications contain information which appears both genuine and relevant.
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HMRC will never notify you of a tax rebate by email or text
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HMRC will never ask you to disclose personal or payment information by email or text
If you have the slightest doubt that a HMRC email or text is fake, the advice is:
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Do not open attachments, they could contain a virus
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Do not click on links, they could take you to a fake HMRC site
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Do not disclose personal/confidential information
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Forward suspicious HMRC text messages to 60599 (charged at your network rate)
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Forward suspicious emails to the HMRC phishing team at, [email protected]
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Check our security guidance: Dealing with HMRC Phishing and scams.
If you think you have disclosed personal information in response to a scam HMRC email or text, act immediately.
Contact the HMRC security team at, [email protected], provide brief details of what you disclosed (e.g. name, address, HMRC User ID, password). Do not give your personal details in the email.
Protect yourself and your clients by reporting your suspicions to HMRC and promoting their cybersecurity messages.
You can also report incidents to Action Fraud.