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An individual receiving an email claiming to be from HMRC telling the taxpayer that he is due a tax repayment should not follow the email’s instructions, says the department.
The emails provide a click-through to a clone of the HMRC website. The recipient is then asked to provide credit or debit card details, which enable criminals to steal the account.
Almost 24,000 such emails were reported to HMRC in August 2011. This is an increase of nearly 300% compared with the same month last year, although the department says the current increase in scam emails is partly due to people following HMRC advice and forwarding them to its online reporting facility.
The Revenue confirmed that it always contacts taxpayers who are due a tax refund in writing. If anyone receives an email saying that they are due a refund and claiming to be from HMRC, it should be forwarded to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk before deleting it permanently.
