HMRC issues new fraud warning
HMRC is warning customers to be especially vigilant to fraudsters at this time of year due to the busy tax return season. What do you need to know?
Fraud involving bogus contact purporting to be from HMRC is on the increase. Its latest press release, issued this week, reports that in the year to August 2022, over 180,000 cases of suspicious contact were referred to it. Nearly half of these were scams involving promises of fake tax refunds, designed to trick you into disclosing your bank details. In recent years, fraudsters are getting more brazen, often calling from numbers that genuinely look like HMRC. Upon answering (or checking a voicemail), you may be told that you need to urgently pay money or you will be arrested.
HMRC’s Director general for Customer Services said: “Never let yourself be rushed. If someone contacts you saying they’re from HMRC, wanting you to urgently transfer money or give personal information, be on your guard. HMRC will never ring up threatening arrest. Only criminals do that. Tax scams come in many forms. Some threaten immediate arrest for tax evasion, others offer a rebate. Contacts like these should set alarm bells ringing, so take your time and check HMRC scams advice on GOV.UK.”
Related Topics
-
Practical guide: Tax-efficient will planning with residential property
An individual has a significant property portfolio which provides them with their sole source of income. They want to gift shares in some property to their daughter but retain the income. Can they do this without triggering the reservation of benefit rules?
-
Will HMRC treat late processed invoices as errors?
Your business processes invoices when they have been approved by budget holders, so some will be processed a month late, delaying your input tax claim. How might HMRC’s updated guidance help here?
-
Are redundancy payments tax deductible?
A seemingly simple question we’re often asked is how much tax relief a business is entitled to for redundancy payments. The answer is that it depends on the situation. How might the circumstances of a redundancy affect the tax deduction?