{"id":1248,"date":"2020-06-23T13:13:52","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T12:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cloud9accountingteam.co.uk\/?p=1248"},"modified":"2020-06-23T13:18:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T12:18:33","slug":"beware-tax-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cloud9accountingteam.co.uk\/sk\/beware-tax-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Beware Tax Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beware tax scams<\/strong><\/p>\n

HMRC regularly warn taxpayers to be alert to fraudsters purporting to be from HMRC. Recently, they announced that in the last year they deactivated more than 20,000 fake HMRC websites, an increase of 29% on the previous year.<\/p>\n

HMRC have also called on people to stay vigilant to avoid falling for tax refund scams. The scams typically take the form of the fraudster sending a fake email or SMS text promising a tax rebate in order to trick people into disclosing their bank account and personal details. In reminding people to be aware, Mel Stride, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:<\/p>\n

\u2018HMRC only informs you about tax refunds through the post or through your pay via your employer. All emails, text messages, or voicemail messages saying you have a tax refund are a scam. Do not click on any links in these messages, and forward them to HMRC\u2019s phishing email address and phone number\u2019.<\/p>\n

Fraudsters will often use events such as the end of the tax year or the self-assessment filing deadline to target people.<\/p>\n

Staying safe<\/strong><\/p>\n

To avoid falling foul of fraudsters, people should:<\/p>\n