Scare tactics by tax crooks are a disgrace
Probes a world of scams and scandals
Mrs A.T. writes: I am 74 and my husband is 81. A few days after coming out of hospital following a recent serious operation I answered the telephone and heard a recorded message that distressed and scared me. The voice said: ‘We have been trying to contact you. Revenue & Customs is going to issue a court order against you.’ I was then asked to press ‘1’ to speak to someone, but I hung up. The call came from 0203 389 5764. The next day there was another call, mentioning a lawsuit and asking me to press ‘1’ to speak to my ‘case officer’. I do not owe money to anyone and while I think this is a scam I admit I am fearful in case it somehow escalates. YOU are not the only victim of this disgraceful scare tactic by crooks. Another reader (thank you, Mr G) found a message on his answering machine with similar threats of legal action and instructions to press ‘1’ to speak to an official.
His call came from 0200 333 0339. Like you, he is in his 70s and he told me his wife, 75, found the message worrying.
In a further twist, a different reader (thanks also to you, Mr S) has just received an email, supposedly from the Revenue, offering him a £198 tax refund if he clicked on a link and submitted a claim.
The link could, of course, lead to a computer virus or to malware that steals your online banking passwords. The fake phone calls similarly aim to persuade people to part with their bank account details or other personal information.
The real Revenue & Customs told me: ‘We are aware some people have received telephone calls from individuals claiming to be from us.
‘We are a well known brand which criminals abuse to add credibility to their scams.’
If the identity of the caller cannot be checked, the only safe course of action is to hang up.
It would be easy to write this off as pranksters operating from a back bedroom. In fact, it is highly organised crime. In the last financial year, Revenue investigators and computer staff closed down almost 14,000 fraudulent websites and blocked eight million malicious emails before they arrived at their destination.
Anyone who is called unexpectedly by someone claiming to be from the Revenue should check by calling their own tax office on a number they already know – not one offered by the suspect caller.
If a dubious email arrives, remember that Revenue emails will not have any attachments, nor will they ask you to click on a link to a supposedly secure site.
In fact, the taxman will simply never send an email offering a refund.
Attachments, links and refund offers are all signs of a scam. The correct button to press is the one that is marked ‘delete’.
If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.