In the three months prior to the 31 January filing deadline, taxpayers reported 23,247 phishing emails to HMRC – up 47% on the same period a year earlier. HMRC warns that anyone responding to this type of email risks opening their bank account to fraudsters and having their details sold on to other organised criminal gangs.
HMRC has revealed that, as a result of customers forwarding these emails to HMRC, it was last month able to close 178 websites which it found were the source of these emails – up from 65 in January 2013.
Gareth Lloyd, head of digital security at HMRC, said: ‘HMRC never contacts customers who are due a tax refund via email – we always send a letter through the post. If you receive an email claiming to be from HMRC which offers a tax rebate, please send it to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete it permanently. We can, and do, close these websites down, and do all we can to ensure taxpayers stay safe online by working with law enforcement agencies around the world to target the criminals behind these scams.’
In the three months prior to the 31 January filing deadline, taxpayers reported 23,247 phishing emails to HMRC – up 47% on the same period a year earlier. HMRC warns that anyone responding to this type of email risks opening their bank account to fraudsters and having their details sold on to other organised criminal gangs.
HMRC has revealed that, as a result of customers forwarding these emails to HMRC, it was last month able to close 178 websites which it found were the source of these emails – up from 65 in January 2013.
Gareth Lloyd, head of digital security at HMRC, said: ‘HMRC never contacts customers who are due a tax refund via email – we always send a letter through the post. If you receive an email claiming to be from HMRC which offers a tax rebate, please send it to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and then delete it permanently. We can, and do, close these websites down, and do all we can to ensure taxpayers stay safe online by working with law enforcement agencies around the world to target the criminals behind these scams.’
.jpg?sfvrsn=335a554c_0 "300 x 250 (MPU)")