Another Scam warning

We perhaps ought to have a section for 'Scams', there are so many now.

Here's one I jus received from Neighbourhood Watch today about HMRC. Be aware folks:


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Police Warn Of Spoof HMRC Phone Calls

Our Crime Reduction team is advising people to be alert to bogus telephone calls, supposedly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), following some reports from the county’s residents.

An HMRC spokesperson said: “HMRC takes security extremely seriously. We are aware that some people have received telephone calls from individuals claiming to be from HMRC. .

These scams often involve people receiving a call out of the blue and being told that HMRC is investigating them. If you can’t verify the identity of the caller, we recommend that you do not speak to them.

Phishing is a method used by fraudsters to access valuable personal details, such as usernames, passwords and banking details. This information has a monetary value for criminals.


Phishing activity is not confined to telephone calls. It may also take the form of letters or online via emails, instant messages or text messages, with malicious attachments, or website links to infect computers or mobile devices. Very often these will appear to be authentic communications from legitimate organisations, and may be quite sophisticated in their execution.


Phishing messages try to convince the recipient that they are from a trusted source. “Spear-phishing” is a technique whereby criminals target an individual using personal information to earn trust and lower the intended victim’s defences, increasing the chances they may open attachments or embedded links.

Embedded links within a message can direct you to a hoax website, where your login or personal details may be requested. You may also run the risk of your computer or smartphone being infected by viruses.

Once your personal details have been accessed, criminals will then record this information and use it to commit crimes such as identity theft and bank fraud. Your details may also be sold onto other criminals."

Re: Another Scam warning

Thanks for the warning Mups. Forewarned is Forearmed!

Re: Another Scam warning

i have no doubt that HMRC will be chasing me when I get the millions of pounds from a Nigerian lady who has suffered much trauma recently. She is having great difficulty getting her late husbands wealth out of the country because of corrupt officials and it would seem very ungentlemanly not to help her after all all she needs is my bank details.

No begging posts please.

Re: Another Scam warning

I always wonder whether they really make any money out of all these things, most of them are so obvious these days.

Re: Another Scam warning

OH has been getting a lot of HMRC hoax emails. There was also a hoax TV licence payment demand recently (it's all on direct debit). Make sure you check the email address of anything like this. It gives it away but otherwise they look very authentic.

Re: Another Scam warning

Thanks Mups. I think it will get to the stage where we will be unable to speak to anyone without returning the call from a different phone. One thing that I always try to remember is that if something is important (such as a visit from HMRC), they will write to you rather than just ring out of the blue. If they do just ring, then request it in writing.

Re: Another Scam warning

Annie, I heard from my Alert people that the criminals have found a way round this as well!
Apparently we can no longer assume the email is from who/where it says.

I will try and find the warning for you if you like?

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Apologies Annie, I've just checked and I can't show you the message as I've already emptied my delete box.

Re: Another Scam warning

There is a proxy they can use. I had a mail like that at work and it appeared to come from my work email address. But for some reason they find it difficult to replicate the official .gov or other mail addresses.

You can check the email source which gives full details. In hotmail it's in "view message source".

I just double and triple check anything like this. I'd phone up the company or HMRC or log in online. This is why I hate the internet of things, but I suppose snail mail can also be fake.

Re: Another Scam warning

We have had similar scams to that Mups here in this area.
There was a piece about it warning others in our local newpaper,someone had been left a message from HMRC to say there was a warrant out for her arrest..these scammers really are dredging the barrel..
Makes me wonder who actually comes up with these scams...

Re: Another Scam warning

That's true Annie. Snail mail, telephone calls, internet scams and doorstep scammers.

They are a determined lot aren't they, and getting more sophisticated by the week.