Kevin Lawrenson of Fermanagh’s Citizens Advice
A NUMBER of people throughout the county have received bogus phonecalls from individuals claiming to be from the tax agency HMRC.
These bogus callers are encouraging people to provide bank account or personal details for alleged tax debts, in exchange for ‘tax advice’, or a bogus refund. The scam is particularly timely as throughout July, people are processing Tax Credit renewals – which may make the phonecall or email seem genuine. HMRC will never ask people to disclose personal information by responding to an email or text message.
Kevin Lawrenson, of Enniskillen Citizen Advice Bureau has received nine complaints in one week of people receiving calls, and being asked to provide personal information. In one case, a client was telephoned and told that there was a warrant out for the debt and if they did not pay they would be arrested. The caller stated he was calling on behalf of HMRC.
Kevin said, “People need to be aware that this is a scam. These people are claiming to be from the tax office and looking for personal information. I just want to warn people about this happening and since the start of the month, I have received nine calls from people who were on the receiving end.
“I don’t think anyone has fallen for the scam yet, but one of the people I was talking to said that the person on the phone was aggressive. People need to be made very aware that they should not give out any information over the phone.”
HMRC has done work to make customers aware of the risks, and works with other agencies to close down fraudulent sites. People are advised that if you cannot verify the identity of the caller, do not speak to them.
Scammers may also attempt to interact with people via email but customers are warned that HMRC will never have attachments or a link to a secure login page.
An HMRC spokesperson said: “We are aware that some people have received telephone calls from individuals claiming to be from HMRC. We recommend that if you cannot verify the identity of a caller that you do not speak to them. We encourage you to check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams, recognise genuine HMRC contact and make payments to HMRC.”
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