Fraudulent emails from ‘HMRC’
HMRC have announced that they are aware of new fraudulent emails being sent to taxpayers. In this latest scam, taxpayers receive an email from‘securemail@hmrc.gov.uk’ headed online notifications and relating to either security measures or updating personal details. The emails contain links to fraudulent websites.
HMRC have repeated their assurance that they never notify taxpayers of tax refunds by email.
Our readers are reminded that should they receive any email that appears to be fraudulent it is important not to provide any information before verifying the authenticity of the email.
Email addresses used for these fraudulent emails include:
• refunds@hmrc.gov.uk
• attached.form@hmrc.attached.gov.uk
• service@hmrc.gov.uk
• hmrcrefunds@hmrc.gov.uk
• refundsdept@ir-efile.gov.uk
• noreply@notifications.gov.uk
• customers@hmrc.gov.uk
• taxcredits@hmrc.co.uk
• notice-hm@hmrc.gov.uk
• securemail@hmrc.gov.uk
• hmrc@tax-revenue.uk
• tndrftnpcb@aol.com
None of these are valid HMRC email addresses.
The ‘phishing’emails are being sent from inside the UK and from around the world. HMRC, in liaison with law enforcement agencies, have shut down spam networks in the UK, Korea, USA and Thailand but the growing problem of fraudulent emails continues.