Security Alert As Fraudsters Target Taxpayers
Thursday January 8 2009
Small business owners and the self-employed are being sent fake email messages stating they are owed a tax rebate and asking for bank or credit card details so the money can be refunded. Alternatively, they are asked to call a phone line to leave their details. The line appears to keep ringing even though callers are being charged up to £6 a minute. Revenue and Customs chief executive Lesley Strathie said: ‘This is the most sophisticated and prolific phishing scam that we have encountered. The messages are being sent out as the January 31 deadline nears for self-assessment forms and when many taxpayers will be due a rebate. HMRC said that concerned taxpayers were forwarding 500 of these e-mails to the authorities a day. The messages include the HMRC logo and are sent from such addresses as refundtax@hmrc.gov.co.uk and taxrefund@hmrc.gov.uk
Ms Strathie said: ‘We only ever contact customers who are due a refund in writing by post. We never use e-mails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances.
A spokesman for computer security company Sophos said: ‘It’s a trick that works. People are all too willing to enter their details on to websites without thinking twice.’ He advised the public to type in the web address of a site they wanted to visit rather than clicking on links in unsolicited e-mails. ‘Its the most prolific scam we’ve seen’.
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