20th March 2019
Fraudsters in India are targeting UK taxpayers by claiming to be HMRC officials, a Daily Mail investigation has uncovered. Victims are told they must make payments related to tax they owe or face arrest and imprisonment, with some losing up to £20,000. It was found that the criminals trick some taxpayers into making multiple bank payments, saying the original transfer did not go through. It is noted that the fraudsters buy British phone numbers and take payments into British bank accounts to make the scam appear genuine.
The report shows that Indian call centres are involved in more than one in ten reported frauds in the UK. HMRC said phone scams using the threat of HMRC action escalated during 2018, with a significant increase to over 4,000 reports a month from July 2018. In the 12 months to February 2019 it received 73,382 reports of suspicious phone calls.
Please contact us if you are in any doubt about a call, email or letter received regarding tax.