Firms warned against the bogus taxman
Aug 4 2009 by Karen Dent, The Journal
SMALL businesses are being warned they are at ‘real risk’ from scam emails offering bogus tax refunds.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) says the number of recorded online ‘phishing’ attacks by con-merchants trying to obtain credit or bank card details reached a peak last month.
It is believed increased publicity about the attempted frauds in the run-up to January’s self-assessment deadline has resulted in more people reporting the emails and forwarding them to HMRC.
It has received more than 15,000 reports of fraudulent repayment emails in the last year.
The scammers send emails pretending to be from the taxman, which claim they need financial details to pay out a non-existent tax rebate. HMRC said that anyone who provides their details runs the risk of having their bank account emptied and their personal details being sold on to other criminal gangs.
HMRC chief executive, Lesley Strathie, said: “We only ever contact customers who are due a refund in writing by post. We never use emails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances.
“I would strongly encourage anyone receiving such an email to immediately send it to us for investigation and delete it from their computer.”
The taxman is working with law enforcement agencies in the UK and abroad to combat the fraud and says scam networks in Britain, Korea, Thailand and the US were closed down last month.
It wants anyone who receives a suspicious email purporting to be from HMRC to forward it to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete it their computer without opening any links or attachments.
Many of the fraudulent emails begin with: “Following a review of your fiscal activity you are due a refund of tax of £XXX” and come from email addresses including refundtax@hmrc.gov.co.uk, TaxRefund@hmrc.gov.uk, service@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk, claims@hmrc.direct.gov.uk, notice@hmrc.gov.uk, hmrc@hmrc.gov.uk, admin@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk, info@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk, no-reply@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk. HMRC does not use any of these addresses.
