Phishing – the reel thing or a lot of pollocks?
25.02.2016
We’re all used to emails from Nigerians wanting to transfer money into our bank account, or endless texts offering compensation for an accident. But an email from HMRC is different, right?
Those brown envelopes from HMRC can be intimidating enough, so an email or text from them can seem to important to ignore. But this is not how they usually communicate with a taxpayer, so do treat them with caution.
I have always encouraged my clients to check with me if they are concerned about an email from HMRC – we will then report it to ActionFraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or to HMRC directly by forwarding the email to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
We are also seeing more phishing texts, usually offering a tax rebate. HMRC may contact you by text with information, but the messages will never request any personal or financial information. Again, this can be reported to ActionFraud.
Remember, HMRC will never contact you by text or email to notify you of a tax rebate or offer you a repayment. More information about this can be found on https://www.gov.uk/topic/dealing-with-hmrc/phishing-scams