Just paid your tax bill? Not happy? Paid too much? How would you like a refund?
If you have answered Yes to any of these questions, then beware. There is a scam that has re-surfaced purporting to come from HMRC telling you, by e-mail, that you are due a refund requesting information. If you, or any of your clients or friends, have received such an e-mail, then beware.
There are some Do's and Don'ts that you need to follow :-
Firstly,HMRC do not notify anyone by e-mail about a refund. They have a different method of contacting taxpayers so concerned.
Do not open any attachments within the e-mail.
Do not click on any links within the e-mail
Contact your accountant immediately. Do not forward the e-mail to your accountant. Outline briefly the contents of the e-mail and ask if this is right.
Your accountant will know your tax position and will advise you accordingly.
Contact HMRC by e-mail. Check their website and look for their contact address for their fraud section. Do not forward the offending e-mail to them at this stage. They will let you know what steps they will want you to take and what information they will need.
This is not an exhaustive list, but these basic steps will help you to avoid the worst aspect of the scam. As an additional check to confirm its authenticity, look for the e-mail address in the top left-hand corner of the e-mail and if it does not show “.gov.uk”, then it is undoubtedly a scam.
I am an independent accountant providing a comprehensive and value for money service for all my clients. Having worked my way to become a Finance Director of a manufacturing company, I can…
