Be aware of the increase in phoney emails
Q
I KNOW you have often mentioned not to trust emails, especially those offering something for nothing, but my neighbour has just excitedly told me he is due to get a substantial tax rebate in an email promising “a full refund of 485.60GBP” if he replies within three days.
As he lives on a state benefits, he pays no tax so what should I say to him? He thinks it is all official – the email came with what looks like a UK government address and it has the royal coat of arms. I need to convince him this is a racket. Jennie L
AIT’S good he alerted you to this rather than going ahead and clicking the link as he might then have revealed bank details and lost all his savings – alternatively, he might have been asked for money “to facilitate the refund”.
There are some clever bits in this – the HMRC logo, the website address, and the warning “Please protect yourself against online fraud”. The rest is rubbish. HMRC reserves email for mass information – such as details of new initiatives and general help with forms. It never emails personal tax affairs. It would always send a personal letter (not an email headed “Hi” or anything where there is no £ sign but GBP (Great Britain Pounds). But it rarely needs to write as most adjustments, tax underpaid or overpaid, are made either via Pay As You Earn (it will send you a change of code notice in the post) or through Self Assessment. That does not cover everything so you could receive a letter but probably not for this relatively small amount.
These phoney emails – from banks, stores, insurance companies, official bodies such as DVLA or Student Loans – are on the increase. They are cheap to send and only need a tiny proportion to respond for fraudsters to earn big time. Which? has recently reported scam merchants spoofing the MI6 email account.
Tell your neighbour to sit down, and be prepared for reality. If he really is due anything, he will hear about it in the post. If he pays no tax, he cannot get a rebate. Suggest he talk to a family member or someone else he trusts. Also say the Which? advice is always be suspicious of offers out of the blue. The which.co.uk website has 10 tips to spotting scam emails.