HMRC: Beware of tax rebate text message scams

Bogus Tax Refunds Offered By Fraudsters

In the last year, tax authorities responded to over 846K referrals based on suspicious communications, and 500K customers received messages related to bogus rebates. The government body posted messages to help Britons with tax affairs recognise the difference between reliable and malicious emails. 

Nevertheless, the fraudulent groups exploited the messaging system to impersonate HMRC and sent texts to unsuspecting victims with an offer to claim rebates. People get notified that "you are eligible to receive a tax refund, and you need to click on the link to claim the benefits." 

When the user clicks on the link given in the message, they are asked to fill in the full name, phone number and national insurance number.  Such links to fake/spoofed sites aim to get your personal and bank details.  

Also, when the victim tries to log into the official website, they realise they received a tax refund which was transferred into the scammer's account.

The HMRC is trying to resolve such cases by working on the transactions where the refund has already been reimbursed. In certain other cases, the defrauded victim is concerned because the criminal has access to all their information, like the national insurance number and bank details, for identity theft. 

Such schemes often target the vulnerable or individuals who do not see it coming. The fraudulent group seeks to get details related to personal identity to register for self-assessment and get repayments from government authorities into their bank account. HMRC is also taking steps to spot and stop such repayment requests. 

How To Protect Yourself? 

The public should know that HMRC will never send emails to ask you to claim a refund or rebate, and they will not seek details of your bank account or data about personal Ids and ask to register to get a rebate. 

Furthermore, it will not ring people to threaten them to arrest for unpaid dues, which is a common tactic adopted by the conmen to scare people into divulging details or paying money.

The victims receive most tax related suspicious messages during the tax months where the criminals include links to harmful software or app to download. Furthermore, such downloadable apps /exes can compromise the computer or the phone, or they install it to extract data from the device, or they may lock the device and ask for a ransom to unlock it. 

How To Prevent It?

• The HMRC contacts through the UTR number, and one should see if it is mentioned in the message. 

• If you suspect a scam, contact your payment provider and ask them to decline the related transaction.

• If you follow the advice to protect the account details, you can even get a refund for the lost funds.

• Also, report the scam to authorities to avoid future losses.