There are two new HMRC telephone scams to be aware of. What do you need to look out for?
Scam 1
HMRC has become aware of a telephone scam where a recorded message is left, allegedly from HMRC, that starts: “This is Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. We have been trying to reach you to let you know that we are filing a law suit against you.” The recipient is then asked to phone 0161 850 8563 and press “1” to speak to the officer dealing with the case. Warn clients not to reply to the message as they will then try to extract money from them.
Scam 2
In this scam, a bogus caller rings up an accountant and poses as an HMRC money laundering (ML) investigator. The caller says that they had previously sent a letter to the accountant about an ML report on one of their clients (the accountant may not have actually received a letter). The client then receives a call allegedly from their bank to say HMRC wants three years’ bank statements. So the client calls their accountant who confirms that HMRC has contacted them and so unwittingly gives credibility to the request for bank statements. The fraudsters then try to trick the client into giving them online access to their bank account to access the statements.
Tip 1. Remind clients that if they can’t verify the identity of the person making the call, they should never disclose any personal details.
Tip 2. If you or your clients receive either of these scam calls, report it on the Action Fraud website or you can call 0300 123 2040.
Warn clients that if they receive a call from HMRC stating that it’s filing a law suit against them or asking for access to bank statements then it’s a scam. Watch out for the fraudsters contacting you too and posing as HMRC money laundering investigators.
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