scams Archives - WRLO Accountants

HMRC warns self assessment taxpayers as scam referrals rise

WRLO Accountants — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 18:00:40 +0000

HMRC is warning people to be wary of bogus tax refund offers following the self assessment deadline on 31 January. The tax authority says that fraudsters could set their sights on self assessment taxpayers, with more than 11.5 million submitting a tax return by last month’s deadline. HMRC warns that taxpayers who completed their tax return for the 2022/23 tax year by the 31 January deadline might be taken in by an email, phone call or text message offering a tax rebate. These phishing scams are designed to use personal details for selling on to criminals, or to access people’s bank accounts, says HMRC. The warning comes after HMRC responded to 207,800 referrals from the public of suspicious contact in the past year to January. This is a 14% increase from the 181,873 reported for the previous 12 months. More than 79,000 of those referrals offered bogus tax rebates. Kelly Paterson, HMRC’s Chief Security Officer, said: ‘With the deadline for tax returns behind us, criminals will now try to trick people with fake offers of tax rebates. ‘Scammers will attempt to dupe people by email, phone or texts that mimic government messages to make them appear authentic.’ Internet link: HMRC […]

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Scams warning issued to 12 million self assessment taxpayers

WRLO Accountants — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 20:47:04 +0000

Self assessment taxpayers must be on the lookout for scam texts, emails and phone calls from fraudsters, HMRC was warned. HMRC has received more than 130,000 reports about tax scams in the past year, with 58,000 of those offering fake tax rebates. With around 12 million people expected to submit a self assessment tax return for the 2022/23 tax year before the 31 January 2024 deadline, fraudsters will prey on taxpayers by impersonating HMRC. The scams take different approaches. Some offer a rebate; others tell taxpayers that they need to update their tax details or threaten immediate arrest for tax evasion. Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said: ‘HMRC is reminding taxpayers to be wary of approaches by fraudsters in the run up to the self assessment deadline. Criminals are great pretenders who try and dupe people by sending emails, phone calls and texts which mimic government messages to make them appear authentic. ‘Unexpected contacts like these should set alarm bells ringing, so take your time and check HMRC scams advice on GOV.UK.’ Internet link: HMRC press release

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December 2021

WRLO Accountants — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 17:27:19 +0000

In this month’s Enews we consider the impact of the pandemic on HMRC’s receipts as well as the tax details published on the first Tax Administration and Maintenance (TAM) Day. With guidance on the rules around Statutory Sick Pay, new laws for pensions trustees and an increase to the Real Living Wage, there is a lot to update you on. HMRC’s tax take falls by billions due to pandemic Government sets out tax details on TAM Day Three-day wait for Statutory Sick Pay to return next year HMRC issues warning on self assessment scams New law introduced to help protect pension savers from scammers Services sector continues to recover despite rising costs Advisory fuel rates for company cars Costs ‘weighing on businesses’ sustainability intentions’, FSB finds HMRC’s tax take falls by billions due to pandemic HMRC saw a drop of almost £30 billion in tax revenues in the latest financial year because of the pandemic, according to its annual accounts. In its 2020/21 annual report, HMRC reported that it had collected £608.8 billion in tax revenues, which is down from £636.7 billion collected in 2019/20. HMRC said the drop was due to the ‘unprecedented economic circumstances caused by COVID-19, and because pandemic restrictions […]

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