A report on the British Computer Society site claims site claims that -
Taxpayers have to fill in their self-assessment forms online and by the end of the month and Websense warned that cybercriminals are attempting to take advantage.
People are receiving an email which claims to be from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
It reads: ‘Over the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of £99.23.
‘Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 3-6 days in order to process it.’
The email then directs them to a website which looks like the official HMRC site but is actually a copy, which was traced to Denmark.
Unsuspecting users then enter their financial details on the site, which forwards the information to the fraudsters.
Victims are then sent to the proper site, which means many do not realise that anything has been amiss until they are contacted by their bank.
This cleverly-timed scam may just trick a few people into entering information that compromises their business accounts as it coincides with the time of year when many are finishing off their tax returns.
Since April 2008 HMRC has received over 11,000 reports of fraudulent repayment emails with Lesley Strathie, HMRC Chief Executive saying,
‘This is the most sophisticated and prolific phishing scam that we have encountered.
“We only ever contact customers who are due a refund in writing by post. We never use emails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances. I would strongly encourage anyone receiving such an email to send it to us for investigation.’
If you receive an email which appears to have come from HMRC and have any doubts then it can be verified at their official site.
As always, never click on links in emails or enter personal information on websites that you are not 100% sure about.
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I had something very similar to this from the IRS last year. Do many people fall for this type of scam?
I’m not sure about falling for this scam but HMRC receiving something like 1,000 enquiries per month on average from people who are unsure after receiving such emails!
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