As we all know, scams are rife with people trying to get hold of your money and digital details by a wide variety of means.
We all think that we can spot a scam a mile off but here in the accountancy profession we have seen increasingly intelligent and convincing scams across the internet and by phone.
Chief amongst these have been from scammers trying to pass themselves off as HMRC, so we’ve put together a couple of pointers on what to look for when you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the Revenue.
To begin with, HMRC communicate mostly by old fashioned mail. They will rarely call you and they will NEVER email or text you.
Of course, it is very easy to make a letter look official but what a scammer won’t do is give you an HMRC telephone number or address.
All HMRC phone numbers that you will see begin with 0300 and all the official postcodes with BX9. If you get a letter that has neither of these on it then it is probably a scam.
If you get a call from someone saying that they are HMRC there are a couple of things you can do. HMRC will usually withhold the number they are calling from, so if you see a telephone number when you get the call it’s probably a scam.
If there is no number, we would recommend taking the call, asking for contact details and telling them that your accountants will call back. Then let us know and we can call and determine whether the caller is a scammer or not.
Finally, HMRC never email customers and nor do they text them. If you get an email or text supposedly from HRMC, then the chances are that it is a scam.
If you think someone has tried to scam you as HMRC or, in particular, if you think you HAVE been scammed in this way, please let us know or contact HMRC by searching the Gov.uk website for “report suspicious HMRC emails and phone calls”.
If you have any doubts at all on any of this, please get in touch. We can tell you very quickly whether this was a genuine contact and help you to stay safe.