A dangerous scam email circling the internet has come to the attention of the UK’s national fraud and cyber reporting centre.
Action Fraud has received hundreds of recent reports about a fraud message said to be from HMRC that makes an irresistible offer.
The email informs potential targets that they are owed money by HMRC due to an overpayment during the last financial year.
Recipients should be wary of what comes next, as the message will ask you to click on a link to claim the tax refund, which is most certainly not advised, reports the Express.
The ploy is known as a phishing scam as it baits victims into sharing valuable information, such as your personal and financial details.
In a recent post on Twitter, Action Fraud issued a warning that said: “Criminals target the public with fake HMRC tax refund emails. We’ve received 442 reports in two weeks about fake emails purporting to be from HMRC.”
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
It continues: “The emails state the recipient is owed a tax refund (rebate), and the links provided in the emails lead to genuine-looking phishing websites that are designed to steal personal and financial information. HMRC will never send notifications of a tax rebate to ask you to disclose personal or payment information by email.”
If you receive the scam message, you can report it by forwarding it to…
