Tax credit scam warning

With HMRC responding to more than 1,154,300 referrals of suspicious contact from the public, they’re urging people to be vigilant when it comes to tax credit scams.

HMRC’s Cyber Security Operations identifies and closes down scams every day and warns that anyone doing their tax credits renewal who has received a tax or benefits scam email or text, might be tricked into thinking it was from HMRC and share their personal details with the criminals or even transfer money for a bogus overpayment.

If customers cannot verify the identity of a caller, HMRC recommends that you do not speak to them.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said, “We’re urging all of our customers to be really careful if they are contacted out of the blue by someone asking for money or bank details.

“There are a lot of scams out there where fraudsters are calling, texting or emailing customers claiming to be from HMRC. If you have any doubts, we suggest you don’t reply directly, and contact us yourself straight away. Search GOV.UK for our ‘scams checklist’ and to find out ‘how to report tax scams’.”

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