It looks like fraudsters used the run up to the October tax deadline to ramp up a scheme to gather private information from people. At the same time a more dangerous scam was coming across from America. What was happening and what can be done?
Tax refunds?
HMRC reported a record 83,000 scam e-mails in September. In one day alone a massive 10,000 reports were made. Given that these are only the e-mails reported, the actual numbers are probably even higher. It’s more than a bit worrying.
One scam says something like “You have a tax refund, click here”. It directs the person to a website asking for credit or debit card details. These sites only live for a couple of hours before they are closed down and replaced by a new site. Although several have been shut down, they are fiendishly hard to track.
The second fraud was perhaps more worrying.
A US scam appears to be moving to the UK. In the States an e-mail claiming to be from the American federal tax authority, IRS, threatening fines and penalties actually had a Trojan attached.
Andrew Brandt of US internet security company Webroot wrote a great blog about it.
Phishing and Trojans
Sending fake e-mails to gather personal information is commonly called “phishing”. Crooks send millions of emails pretending to be from a well-known respected organisation such as a bank. The e-mail scares the recipient into visiting a genuine-looking but fraudulent website where data is captured.
A trojan is a computer program that installs itself on your computer and without you knowing can send your personal details, passwords and usernames etc to the criminals who sent the e-mail.
Both are tools used by criminals for identity theft.
What to do?
Fortunately, it’s easy to spot – HMRC will never send an e-mail regarding a tax refund. They will only ever send you a letter in those circumstances. As John Harrison, head of customer contact at HMRC says: “We never use e-mails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances.”
So, if you have an email purporting to be from HMRC saying you are owed a tax refund, it’s a scam. Simple as that.
If you are concerned about an e-mail you have received, the important thing is never to open it or click on any link it contains. Just delete it.
HMRC have a really informative and up to date web site with details of the latest scams and frauds. Click here for more information.
Alternatively, simply send the e-mail immediately to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk without opening it and then delete it. They’ll deal with it.
A more in-depth version of this article appears on msn money.
