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HMRC puts an end to fraudsters spoof calling victims

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have put new protective controls in place to put an end to fraudsters deceiving the tax authority’s most recognisable helpline numbers.

Fraudsters have increasingly mimicked legitimate HMRC helpline numbers (often beginning with 0300) to dupe taxpayers and steal money. Last year alone, HMRC received over 100,000 phone scam reports.

How the scam works

HMRC have long warned about fake tax related scam calls. Fraudsters posing as HMRC use many different tactics to extract money from victims. However, HMRC say that there has been a sharp rise in the amount of scam calls being made to … Read more

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Warning Over Springtime Scammers

Fraudsters are targeting elderly, vulnerable and young people who may have less experience of the tax system. During April and May, fraudsters target taxpayers with refund scams, by Feigning to be from HMRC, either by email or text. This coincides with genuine tax rebates at this time of year, made by HMRC and makes the con seem more legitimate as people may be expecting to hear from the tax service.

They ask recipients to provide bank details through a fake government website which harvests private information and is used to steal money from peoples bank accounts. To lure them in … Read more

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Off Duty Officer Stops Elderly Neighbour From Being Scammed

An eagle-eyed off duty officer stepped in to stop his elderly neighbour becoming the victim of a fraud after she bought hundreds of pounds worth of gift cards.

The woman, in her 80’s, bought the cards after receiving a call from someone asserting to be from HMRC. The caller told her that there was a warrant out for her arrest due to unpaid tax dating back to the 1950’s. In order to “settle the debt” she would need to buy £500 worth of gift cards, which can be redeemed by anyone if they have the code on the card.

Believing … Read more

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