HMRC Phishing emails

Posted by admin - July 14, 2016 11:47 am HMRC phishing emails

HMRC issue warning on latest cyber security/phishing emails

Today we live in a world of fast changing technology which can sometimes be hard to keep up with. Unfortunately, there are people who take advantage of this and may be attempting to contact you electronically with fraudulent intentions.

Phishing is when fraudsters send emails, claiming to be genuine companies in order to obtain personal information.

For example, fraudsters may pretend to be from HM Revenue and Customs  (HMRC) and claim that you have a tax refund due. They may ask you for bank account details or other personal information such as passwords, which may be used for online identity theft.

It is important to be alert to the risk of fraudulent emails and not provide any information if you are uncertain of the email’s legitimacy.

HMRC will never email send emails which:

  • Advise you of a tax repayment
  • Ask for your bank details
  • Ask for your Unique Taxpayer Reference
  • Have any attachments

A wide spread issue

Of course, HMRC are not the only company that is being impersonated, however there are some steps that you can take to determine whether or not an email is a phishing email.

  • Check the email address of the sender. Were you expecting an email from this company and do you recognise it as a contact? Fraudsters may deliberately mimic email addresses to make them appear genuine.
  • Does the email require your immediate action? Phishing emails often pressurise people into acting quickly, without giving them time to consider how legitimate the email may be.
  • Does the email ask you to confirm personal information? Many organisations such as banks will never email you asking for passwords or bank details. You should never give out information online which you wouldn’t tell a stranger.

If you do receive an email that you suspect to be fraudulent, then you should not follow any links contained within the email. You should not open any attachments either, as these may contain software designed to extract personal information from your computer.

For more information on phishing emails that purport to be HMRC, please click on this link.