It’s time to file Self Assessment tax returns, which is also the hunting season for scammers.
Types of scams
Text messages, phone calls, social media contacts and emails that are all designed to get taxpayers to hand over their money or valuable personal information. Most of them offered fake tax rebates.
How to know it’s a fake HMRC email
Dodgy English with lots of grammatical mistakes
Email would go to spam inbox
Trick you to disclose personal information
Please be aware that HMRC would never send emails about tax refunds or rebates. Instead, you will be told to sign into an online account to read the message.
Tips to avoid HMRC scam
1. If you get a call from a number you don’t recognise, search it online. There are lots of sites that list known spam numbers.
2. You’ll never get a tax refund without making an actual claim. HMRC wouldn’t know how much you’ve spent or how much to repay without the paperwork.
3. HMRC will never ask you to give personal details or payment information by email.
4. Never provide your personal information for the refund to be paid to you.
5. When receiving an email sent from ‘HMRC’, it’s better to log in your online HMRC account instead of clicking the hyperlink from the website.
