The ICAEW (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) has reported the details of an attempted scam where a recorded voice message comes on the line when the phone is answered, purporting to be from ‘UK Police’.
The message says that they have received a complaint from HMRC tax department and a warrant for your arrest. They then provide a warrant code and a contact telephone number.
In June 2018 HMRC announced that they had saved the public over £2.4m by tackling fraudsters that trick the public into using premium rate phone numbers for services that HMRC provide for free. This could well be a premium telephone number that is being left on the fake message.
Check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact.
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HMRC’s top tips to stay safe online 4 September 2018
HMRC’s Tax Agent Blog provides a useful reminder of how you can play your part in keeping your data secure online.
Use strong and separate passwords • don’t use the same password over multiple systems • choose something that’s not easy to guess; such as three random words or a combination of letters and numbers • don’t use words or dates that are related to you or your family, e.g. birthdays, children’s names, pets’ names • keep your password private – don’t share it with colleagues • immediately change your password if you suspect it has been compromised • don’t use a variation of your old password when changing it • use two-step verification when available. Beware of misleading websites Scammers create websites that look similar to HMRC’s official site and then direct the public to call numbers with extortionate costs, instead of the low cost and no cost service HMRC provides. These sites promote non-HMRC premium rate phone numbers as a means of reaching HMRC but are merely call forwarding services, which connect callers to HMRC at a significant price. • Recognise the signs – genuine organisations like banks and HMRC will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or bank details • Stay safe – don’t give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in emails you weren’t expecting • Take action if you think something’s wrong o emails – forward to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk o texts – forward to 60599 o suspicious phone calls – email us at the above address with as much detail as possible – caller number (dial 1471, the number displayed could be spoofed), date of call and a brief description o if you have suffered financial loss contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use their online fraud reporting tool o check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact. Always check GOV.UK for genuine contact numbers. Beware of phishing emails/texts/calls
Protect your devices
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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