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A HMRC scam text message is doing the rounds with the fake text telling people they are owed a tax refund of £277.
The Fraud Advisory Panel shared a screenshot of the bogus text on Twitter this week. It reads: “HMRC Refund: You have an outstanding Tax refund of £276.74 from 2020 to 2021. Follow instructions to claim your Tax refund at: https://gov-tax.refundpr.com/”
The group said in the tweet: “Did you just get a suspicious text or email from HMRC? STOP! Don’t click any links; instead, use a trusted URL to log into your gov gateway.”
The scam text appears to have been reported previously, as the panel shared a screenshot of the same fake message in September last year.
Information about scams on the HMRC website states: “Use the online form to tell HMRC if you’ve received a phone call you do not think is genuine.
“You’ll need to give your email address. We may share your email address and phone number with other organisations to close down the scam.”
People can also forward suspicious emails to HMRC’s phishing team at phishing@hmrc.gov.uk. The tax authority said: “HMRC will never send notifications of a tax rebate or ask you to disclose personal or payment information by email.”
A woman recently spoke about how she lost almost £400 to fraudsters who called her up pretending to be from her bank.
The scammer duped her into giving him access to her account and then cruelly mocked her as on the phone while he stole her money.
Wendy Falconer, 63, told the BBC: “He was laughing, saying I was stupid, his language was unbelievable. And he said if you’d like to go to your app now, you’ll see me take your money.
“Why did he need to do that? He’d already got the money. He was laughing so much at me and the language was just awful, calling me names.
“He said ‘you’re so thick, you’re so stupid’. I was just in shock.”
Communications watchdog Ofcom has warned people not to give out sensitive information over the phone after receiving a call from someone else. Calling a service provider directly can reduce risk.
Ofcom said: “Never give out your personal information in response to an incoming call, or rely upon the caller ID as the sole means of identification, particularly if the caller asks you to carry out an action which might have financial consequences.”
For the latest personal finance news, follow us on Twitter at @ExpressMoney_.
