BE VERY CAREFUL, FOLKS..!!
I have received two landline telephone calls this afternoon from a London number: 0203 322 2979, only thirty-odd minutes apart and allegedly from HMRC threatening that I am to be arrested for non-payment of tax; that an arrest warrant has been issued and that the police would be arresting me shortly if: “You do not press number one on the phone to speak to your case officer immediately”. “Number one” I assume links you then into an extremely expensive foreign landline linkup that once opened cannot be closed from your end of the connection..! I DIDN’T “press number one” because I never answer the phone if the person who wishes my attention doesn’t speak to my answering machine. Can’t be bothered to leave a message..? Obviously then an unimportant call..! I DID however type the 0203 number into the Google box to check its authenticity – it WAS, and is, a scam that has hit many thousands of people throughout the UK. It sounds very genuine; clean well articulated English accent, fair choice of authoritarian words. SO BE VERY CAREFUL, AS THERE SEEMS TO BE A RASH OF IT AROUND..!!
This is the response I received from HMRC, which is full and very concise so worthwhile bearing in mind:
Thank you for reporting the suspicious telephone call/message you received.
We are aware that some customers have received telephone calls claiming to be from HMRC requesting personal information or bank account details in order to receive a tax refund, demand money for an unpaid tax bill, or to inform you that HMRC are filing a lawsuit against you. The caller may state that you must make an immediate payment (using various methods including iTunes vouchers), and threatening police action.
If you cannot verify the identity of the person making the call you should not disclose your personal details. For clarification, go to https://www.gov.uk/contact-hmrc and contact the relevant department.
If you have suffered financial loss, you should report this to Action Fraud – the UK’s national fraud and cyber-crime reporting centre – you can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 (Please note this number will be charged at your normal network rate). They open Monday to Friday, 09:00 – 18:00.
The online form can be accessed by visiting the following website: https://reporting.actionfraud.police.uk/reporting
Click Continue As Guest -> Tick ‘I Understand’ and Continue -> Click ‘a victim’ on the Start Reporting page -> Scroll down to ‘I can’t find the relevant option’ -> fill in the online form.
The callers use a variety of phone numbers. To help our investigations, please dial 1471 after the suspicious call (where possible) and make a note of the telephone number quoted (geographic charges may apply). If you have not already done so, please report full details of the scam by email to: [email protected], including the:
• date and time of the suspicious call
• phone number given by 1471 – if possible
• customer’s telephone number
• brief description of the call
Your email address and phone number will be shared with other organizations if that’s necessary to close down the scam.
You may also wish to consider contacting your telephone provider to request that any suspicious telephone numbers be investigated and blocked (not all companies provide this service and some may charge you for it).
HMRC provides additional security advice which can be found by following the link: https://www.gov.uk/…/phishing-and-bogus-emails-hm-revenue-a…
If you wish to know more about what we do with the data you provide, our privacy policy can be found by searching ‘HMRC Privacy Notice’ on GOV.UK.
Kind regards,
HMRC Online Security Team
John David Jones
