Scammers often exploit current trends and tactics to deceive unsuspecting victims. We’ve recently been notified by Azets, a local accountancy and business advisory service, that there is a wave of scam letters pretending to be from HMRC which are in circulation.
In the main, they are non-standard enquiry letters inviting businesses and/or individuals to check various aspects of their tax reporting. The scammers have done a pretty convincing job, and the scam is hard to spot unless you receive a lot of HMRC correspondence.
What do I need to look out for?
- Is there a phone number to contact that checks out as a valid HMRC number?
- Is there a tax code reference number you recognise?
- Is there an HMRC caseflow reference number?
- Are they asking for information they should already have (such as previous tax filings)?
- Is the email address where you are being requested to send information to independently verifiable as an HMRC email address?
What action can I take?
- You can report scam letters claiming to be from HMRC by contacting the relevant HMRC team – in this case the tax compliance team.
- If you receive dodgy mail that you think might be from fraudsters, you can send it to Royal Mail at: Freepost Royal Mail Customer Services.
- Royal Mail also provides a form that you can use to report scam letters. You can submit this online or send it to Freepost Scam Mail with the letter you received. Reporting scams helps Royal Mail investigate them with the relevant authorities.
- You can also report the scam to Action Fraud. If you lost money to a scam, contact your bank immediately using the number on the back of your card.
Remember!
- Always take a moment to pause.
- Exercise caution.
- Verify before disclosing any information.
If you have any concerns or queries should you receive any correspondence from HMRC, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 0161 486 2250 or by reaching out to your usual Equilibrium contact.
If you haven’t attended one of our masterclasses before, we highly recommend our Cyber Security Masterclass to discover the most effective ways to stay safe online, what to watch out for and the latest tips that everyone needs to know about.
