How to spot and avoid tax scams

Handling taxes every year can be a tedious and daunting task. There are usually multiple forms and documents to complete, within a specific time period. During the past year, tax scams have significantly increased due to the global pandemic. Thousands of people have been made redundant or lost money and unfortunately, scammers have taken advantage of peoples current state and intensified and diversified the types of scams they commit.

Criminals usually use tax rebates and identify theft to lure their victims in and steal all of their information. It is important to notice the signs that you are being contacted by a scammer and knowing how to avoid becoming their next victim. Remember, you can be contacted via phone, email and mail and they will be impersonating an authority figure, so be aware and be diligent.

Phone Scams

Phone scams are the oldest in the book, they usually involve impersonating HMRC and telling their victim that they have unpaid taxes that must be paid, or the victim will be arrested, alongside other threats that made. Scammers used to use regular mobile numbers or landlines to call. However, criminals have been getting swifter with their technology and can now use systems to show they are calling from HMRC’s official number, making it easier for people to fall for it.

Tax Rebates

Another common tax scam that has become alarmingly popular is offering fake refunds or tax rebates via text or email, following a link where all your personal details should be entered. Unfortunately, this type of scam has thousands of victims because who does not love a tax rebate? Thousands of people are often too excited and enter their give away their details, without conducting the necessary checks.

The link that is provided with the email or text message is taken to a phishing site, a fraudulent copy of HMRC’s official site. Once the victim enters all the details and personal information, no refund is given, and the criminal can now commit identify theft with the victims details.

If the message is sent via email, you will usually find that clicking on the email address details show an unofficial or fake email and not HMRC’s official email.

Who to report to?

If you believe you have fallen victim to a tax scam, you visit Gov.uk for suspicious phone calls. You can forward suspicious emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and you can forward suspicious text messages to 60599. However, text messages will be charged at your network’s standard rate.

For more information on which department to report to, visit Gov.uk.

Reminder

It is important to remember that HMRC will never contact you via phone, text or email asking for your personal details, pins or any passwords. HMRC will never call you and threaten you about suing or being arrested. HMRC will also never ask for personal information or data via the phone. So as soon as you receive one of these calls, do not be alarmed, hang up, block the caller and report it to HMRC.

Written by Abi Raji

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