Potential HMRC Scam

mrcthms

Hi guys!

I just wanted to get the advice of all you lovely people here about a potential attempt of a scam tried upon me, or whether you think there's a chance it's genuine!

I submit a self-assessment tax return every year since 2011-2012 for a supplementary income. it's never a great deal, and i've paid around about £8000 in tax over that time.

I got a phone call from a number purporting to be 0300 200 3884, saying that I need to ring back about a personal tax matter. The voicemail was a little weird, very stop-start kind of thing, but they had my tax ID number. They said it was important that I call back urgently, which is something i've learned to be wary of with scams.

I called back just out of curiousity more than anything and that's when things started to get confusing. They asked me to confirm my address, and the address I have on file for SA, that i've submitted every tax return with, is my parents address, but the guy on the phone had my current address on record. He also said he sent a letter to that house on 4th August, even though I only moved in on the 12th. So another red flag there.

But then what struck me was that he had details of when I had paid & how much, so that seemed to legitimise it a little bit. And then he said the reason for the call was that I owed over £10000 in back taxes from unpaid bills in 2012-13, and 2014-15. I found this highly suspicious as in my entire tax return history i've not even owed that amount ever.

I was then transferred to their "claims" department, but it sounded like it was coming from a mobile phone, or something with really bad signal (i was calling from a landline) so that again seemed odd to me. I said I couldn't hear, and he said he would call back but never did.

This is the first time i've received such a call, or any contact about it, so then it makes me suspicious that it's genuine, but then it confuses me they would have details of my account, like payment history, but an incorrect address!

Has anybody else experienced anything like this before? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Marc

Darksparkle

HMRC do make outbound calls. However if you don't believe it's genuine then give no personal information and try calling the SA number on the gov site.

They'll be able to see if you have any notes of anyone calling you plus give you accurate information about your record.

Some people online believe this number to be genuine (debt recovery) and others do not.

The bad signal doesn't necessarily prove anything, sometimes their lines do have bad signals.

buglawton

Never call any 'official sounding' person back without going via the contact details posted on their genuine website. Govt sites end in .gov.uk

System

It has also been advised that one should use a different phone or make another innocuous call first, because clever scammers can hold the line and then redirect your call from the genuine number you have just called back to their own number.