Gmail, Hotmail and Outlook users are being warned about a scam email that’s being distributed by con artists across the UK. The dangerous message, which tries to take advantage of concerns about the cost of living crisis, informs victims that they’re allegedly owed a lump sum of hundreds of pounds from HMRC. According to the scam email, this surprise windfall is because the victim overpaid their taxes during the last financial year. Recipients are told to click on a link to claim the refund …but do not click.
That’s because the link directs to a fraudulent website – part of the elaborate con to send steal personal and financial information from email users. So, far Action Fraud – the UK’s national fraud and cyber reporting centre – have received hundreds of reports of this scam.
In the space of a fortnight, Action Fraud has received 442 reports about this HRMC email. And they are warning the public to be on alert to this dangerous message.
In a recent post on Twitter Action Fraud said: “Criminals target the public with fake HMRC tax refund emails. We’ve received 442 reports in two weeks about fake emails purporting to be from HMRC. The emails state the recipient is owed a tax refund (rebate), and the links provided in the emails lead to genuine-looking phishing websites that are designed to steal personal and financial information. HMRC will never send notifications of a tax rebate to ask you to disclose personal or payment information by email.”
If you receive the scam message, you can report it by forward it to [email protected].
Scammers have gone to a lot of effort to make this fake email look convincing as it features similar branding to official Government messages.
While this will take you a bit more time it will save you a lot more in the time and stress that would be caused if you did end up falling victim to such a scam.
This latest fake email has been highlighted after Action Fraud also recently revealed another message the public has to be aware of.
Scammers have been spreading a fake email allegedly from energy regulator Ofgem, with the message claiming to offer a Government-backed rebate to help with your energy bills.
Action Fraud received over 700 reports of this scam in the space of just four days.
Speaking to Express.co.uk about this threat recently, Detective Chief Inspector Craig Mullish, from the City of London Police, said: “There has been a sudden flurry of reports relating to fake emails purporting to be from Ofgem. These attempt to hook the public in by claiming that the recipient is eligible to apply for an energy bill rebate. The link will then take you through to a genuine-looking website that intends to steal your personal and financial information. As with many scams, we advise the public to follow the Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign to keep themselves safe from fraud.”
DCI Mullish also revealed a few steps people should take whenever they receive an unsolicited email which will help them spotting a scam…
• Stop – Take a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe
• Challenge – Could it be fake? It’s okay to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you
• Protect – If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud online at actionfraud.police.uk or by calling 0300 123 2040
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