New HMRC scam purporting to be from the Police
30 August 2018
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has reported the details of an attempted scam where a recorded voice message comes on the line when the phone is answered, purporting to be from ‘UK Police’.
The message says that they have received a complaint from HMRC tax department and a warrant for your arrest. They then provide a warrant code and a contact telephone number.
In June 2018 HMRC announced that they had saved the public over £2.4m by tackling fraudsters that trick the public into using premium rate phone numbers for services that HMRC provide for free. This could well be a premium telephone number that is being left on the fake message.
Check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact.