HMRC has warned taxpayers to stay vigilant as the Self Assessment season gets underway. In the past year, nearly 145,000 scam attempts were reported, marking a 16.7% increase from the previous year.
Fraudsters often impersonate HMRC, offering fake tax refunds or demanding unpaid taxes in order to steal personal and financial information.
Disturbingly, around half of all reported scams involved fraudulent rebate claims. HMRC has clarified that it will never contact taxpayers by text, email, or phone to offer refunds or request payments. Additionally, it will never leave threatening voicemails about potential legal action or arrests.
HMRC emphasises that tax refunds can only be claimed securely through an official online account or the free HMRC app.
Any suspicious messages or unexpected communications should be ignored—do not reply, share personal details, download attachments, or click on links, as they could lead to identity theft or malware attacks.
HMRC advises taxpayers to report scams as follows:
- Forward suspicious emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk
- Report fraudulent calls on the HMRC website at www.gov.uk
- Forward scam texts to 60599
Earlier this year, the government launched the ‘Stop! Think Fraud’ campaign, which is supported by various organizations in law enforcement, technology, banking, and telecommunications.
