Scam warning following Self Assessment deadline

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is warning Self Assessment customers to protect themselves against bogus refund offers.

HMRC has seen a rise in the number of customer reporting suspicious contact from fruadsters. They are warning Self Assessment customers to be wary of bogus tax refund offers following the Self Assessment deadline.

Taxpayers who completed their tax return for the 2022 to 2023 tax year by the 31 January deadline might be taken in by an email, phone call or text message offering a tax rebate. These phishing scams are designed to use personal details for selling on to criminals, or to access people’s bank accounts.

How to avoid a scam

HMRC will not email, text or phone a customer to tell them that they are due a refund or ask them to request a refund. Customers receive repayments into their chosen bank account, and can see any transactions in their online HMRC account and in the HMRC.

Customers can help fight phishing scams by reporting any suspicious communications to HMRC:

• forward emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk
• report tax scam phone calls to HMRC
• forward suspicious texts claiming to be from HMRC to 60599

Protect, recognise and report

Remember to:

Protect

• Criminals are cunning - protect your information.
• Take a moment to think before parting with your money or information.
• Use strong and different passwords on all your accounts so criminals are less able to target you.

Recognise

• If a phone call, text or email is suspicious or unexpected, don’t give out private information or reply, and don’t download attachments or click on links.
• Check a list of genuine HMRC contacts to see if the contact is genuinely from HMRC.
• Do not trust caller ID on phones. Numbers can be spoofed.

Report

• If you’re unsure about a text claiming to be from HMRC forward it to 60599, or an email to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk. See report suspicious HMRC emails, text messages and phone calls.
• Contact your bank immediately if you’ve had money stolen, and report it to Action Fraud.
• By reporting phishing emails, you help stop criminal activity and prevent other people falling victim.

First published 14 April 2024