HMRC warns on scams

HMRC warns over spring scamsHMRC has warned young adults with less experience of the tax system to be especially vigilant against springtime refund scams, with this group – alongside the vulnerable and elderly - increasingly being targeted by fraudsters. Last spring HMRC received around 250,000 reports of tax scams, or almost 2,500 a day, and requested that over 6,000 phishing websites be deactivated. HMRC says April and May often see scammers target people to coincide with the time legitimate rebates are being processed. Pauline Smith of Action Fraud said criminals will often target victims with spoofed calls, voicemails and text messages and urged people to be wary of emails with attachments which might contain viruses designed to obtain personal or financial information.