HMRC Hoax Email Scam

Taxpayers Targeted by new Hoax E-mail

Have you received an e-mail supposedly from HMRC lately? If so, take care because it could be a hoax.

According to an August 2009 Daily Mail report, an email from ‘2009@hmrc2009.co.uk’ tells recipients they may apply for a tax refund.

One recipient who realised the hoax brought the e-mail to the attention of his local tax office that. The recipient was offered a £285 tax refund which would be theirs within 5-9 business days providing they provided their name and address; telephone number; mother’s maiden name and credit card details.

Personal finance investigator Tony Hetherington who investigated the case said, “The five to nine business days are not needed for the processing of any tax refund but to allow fraudsters to have fun with your credit card, buying all manner of goods by phone or over the internet.”

According to Mr Hetherington, these scams are becoming ‘more common’. Some of the other e-mail addresses used tax-refund@hmrcforms.co.uk and refundsdept@hmrc.gov.uk.

If you receive an e-mail from HMRC and would like to check its validity, let us know and we’ll make enquiries on your behalf. Whatever you do, don’t respond to it until it has been verified as genuine.

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