Taxpayers told to be vigilant, with as many as 150,000 scam referrals made to HMRC in the last year
HMRC has issued a warning to self-employed taxpayers, urging them to be vigilant of tax scams and fraudulent activity in the lead-up to the 31st January Self Assessment deadline.
With millions of self-employed workers due to complete the Self Assessment and settle their tax bills by 31st January, fraudulent activity is on the rise. As many as 150,000 scam referrals have been made to the tax authority by concerned taxpayers between November 2023 and October 2024.
This represents a 16.7% increase on the previous period (November 2022 – October 2023), which saw around 123,600 scams referred to HMRC.
Around half of scams reported to HMRC in the most recent period – roughly 71,800 – have seen fraudsters “targeting people with offers of tax refunds”. Others are “demanding payment of tax, to get hold of personal information and banking details”.
While scammers and fraudsters operate all year round, the self-employed are at particular risk at this time of year. HMRC issues such warnings periodically, both ahead of the self-assessment and after the deadline, as it did earlier this year.
“Don’t rush into anything”, HMRC warns
The promise of tax refunds can be alluring – particularly heading into the Christmas and New Year period, when many self-employed operators may see their business slow down – and so it is little surprise that scammers are using such ploys.
However, HMRC’s Chief Security Officer, Kelly Paterson, is encouraging taxpayers to take their time when engaging with phone calls, text messages and emails that appear to be from the tax authority.
“With millions of people filing their Self Assessment return before January’s deadline, we’re warning everyone to be wary of emails promising tax refunds”, Paterson said.
“Being vigilant helps you spot potential scams. And reporting anything suspicious helps us stop criminal activity and to protect you and others who could have received similar bogus communication.
“Our advice remains unchanged. Don’t rush into anything, take your time and check ‘HMRC scams advice’ on GOV.UK” she added.
Spotting a scam – and how to report it
HMRC will not contact you by email, text, or phone to announce a refund or ask you to request one. Anyone due a refund from HMRC can claim it via their online HMRC account or the free and secure HMRC app.
Additionally, HMRC will never leave voicemails threatening legal action or arrest, or ask for personal or financial information over text message – only fraudsters and criminals will do that. If you think you might have been contacted by a scammer, you can report this to HMRC in a few different ways:
Forwarding emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk
Reporting tax scam phone calls to HMRC on GOV.UK
Forwarding suspicious texts claiming to be from HMRC to 60599
You can also visit the government’s ‘Stop! Think Fraud.’ campaign website to understand how to protect yourself from scams: https://stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk/
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