Latest tax refund email Scam
29 January 2019
Ahead of the 31 January self assessment deadline, fraudsters are once again on the move with emails claiming you are entitled to a tax refund.
Wording (in bad English, which is always a sign) is along the lines of:
“HM Revenue & Customs - Tax Notice
We would like to notify that you are eligible to claim a tax refund of amount £XXX.XX GBP
According to calculation of your last year's fiscal activities, we have concluded that your are eligible to claim a tax refund of amount £439.90 GBP.
You can submit an application to claim your refund by clicking on "Claim Now" below.
You are just a few steps away from claiming your tax refund and get it deposited in your account. You can also get this settled in your next tax return just by ignoring this email.
-the link expires on February 01, 2019.
-have your credit/debit card ready
-follow the instructions on your screen”
Often HMRC related email scams spoof the branding of GOV.UK and well-known credit cards in an attempt to look authentic. The recipient’s name and email address may be included several times within the email itself. Fraudulent emails and texts will regularly include links which take the recipient to websites where their information can be stolen
Follow phishing advice from HMRC:
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Recognise the signs - genuine organisations like banks and HMRC will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or bank details
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Stay safe - do not give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in emails you weren’t expecting
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Take action - forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to [email protected] and texts to 60599
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If you suffer financial loss, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool
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Check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact