Couple dodge scam by fraudsters posing as HMRC
AN elderly couple from Edinburgh said they hope others can learn from their experience after they were almost conned out of thousands of pounds by fraudsters posing as tax officials.
Ian and Margaret Meikle, both 69, of Craiglockhart, said their ordeal began in September after they received an unexpected phone call from a woman who said she was from the Inland Revenue.
Mrs Meikle said: “The lady said there was a warrant out for my arrest. She said I was in debt to something like £4,600 and if I didn’t pay this money I could go to prison.
“She gave me a code and her name, Emily Jones. When I asked which station she was based in she couldn’t answer that.
“I then spoke to someone called James Parker. They were so convincing with all the numbers and references and HMRC codes, because they actually did have all that relevant information. They had my National Insurance number as well. Both spoke with Asian accents.”
She said she was asked to pay cash, but when she offered to pay in person at various tax offices, the fraudsters’ tactics changed.
Mr Meikle continued: “They said, ‘You can pay by vouchers’. You’re so confused and upset, you don’t think logically. The amount they wanted us to pay kept going down until it got to £1,000 and that’s when they said we want you to go to PC World.”
The callers told the Meikles to go and purchase Steam vouchers – credits for online gaming. It was at this point that alarm bells rang for the couple.
They went to PC World where store staff confirmed it was a fraud and advised against buying vouchers.
The Meikles say they have learned from their experience and hope others will too.
Mr Meikle said: “It was plausible up to the point when they were asking us to go and buy vouchers – that’s when it started to sound iffy.
“By that point you were caught up in the thing and upset and angry. Before this happened we would have said we would never get caught like that because we are reasonably savvy about these sort of things.”
An HMRC spokesperson said: “If someone calls you claiming to be from HMRC saying you are owed a tax refund and asking for information such as credit card or bank details then it’s a scam. HMRC will never request tax debts are paid in payment vouchers or gift cards.”