Genuine or scam? "Welcome to HMRC’s help and support email service" email

00ec25

chrismac1 wrote: »

Let me make it easy for you:


"Dear customer,"


No need to read any further, SPAM.

oh so blinkered
I get the e mail I quoted above every 2 - 3 months
it comes from HMRC
spam? Yes, having read it once there is little to be gained from reading it again every 2-3 months, but at the same time there is an UNSUBSCRIBE button you can use ....

so, given the general ignorance of how UK taxation works, it is not spam if someone reads it once and then is educated on how their tax works as a result of that reading

I agree thereafter there is no advantage to receiving the same info every 2-3 months, but that is simply resolved by the unsubscribe button

badmemory

Can anyone tell me why they would send me a business email, when I was PAYE until I retired?


So spam - even if it is as some believe HMRC spam.

dori2o

Based on the email above there are no live links in the contents which would suggest it is from HMRC, the address it has come from is also one of the recognised HMRC addresses. These used to be available on the Gov.uk Spam email page.

As I understand it these email are sent out periodically depending on what services you have enrolled for.

I believe a lot have been sent out recently following the online changes to remove HMRC services from the Government Gateway. All HMRC services now run independently within Gov.uk.

That means anyone who used to log in from https://www.gateway.gov.uk will now be redirected to the sign in page on the Gov.uk site.

This was essential due to the links needed between the Personal tax account (which deals with PAYE/ NI /State Pension and Tax Credits and the Business Tax Account where Self Assessment is handled.

Taxpayers will notice very little change. Self Assessment option will still be seen in the PTA but will simply take you to the SA pages held on the BTA.

The PTA and BTA will also include links to move between the 2 services where necessary.

Rather than having one process to register for Self Assessment online and one to register for the PTA, this now merges the processes into one.

Many changes, improvements and updates are coming over the next few months, including enhancements to the PTA enabling more servic s to be available and giving the customer ability to make changes to/update more things within the PTA.

Just recently an update was made enabling the customer to see all the tax codes that have been issued, allowing them to see what changes were made and when.

These changes are necessary in preparing the system for the end of SA and the introduction of MTDfI and MTDfB.

00ec25

badmemory wrote: »

So spam - even if it is as some believe HMRC spam.

didums, I don't "believe", I know, since when I click on the links I get taken to an HMRC webinar about tax for landlords

chrismac1

OK. Let me spell it out for you.


Spammers start their e-mails "dear customer" and similar because they don't actually know, or can't be bothered finding out, who they are writing to.


Proper businesses start their e-mails "Dear dori2o", "Dear 00ec25" and so on, because they can be arzzed to find out who they are writing to and so they put that in the first line of the e-mail so it gets read.


Numerous spammers send out HMRC fake e-mails, the idea is eventually to get you to transfer money to them or photo ID. Given that, HMRC have a duty in my view to only use the professional method of sending out their e-mails.


"Dear customer" is just total rubbish bordering on negligent, given the sheer level of fake HMRC e-mails that are out there.

chrismac1

Just to make this crystal clear to all, suppose one of my clients aged 80 - who is only a client really because HMRC are too rubbish to get his or her pension right - gets this e-mail today. Great, they click on one of the links and read the stuff, great.


Then tomorrow they get an e-mail from practically the same e-mail address, looking very similar.


"Dear customer,


Many thanks for your recent tax submission to us. In order to process your refund, we will need:


Photo ID such as passport or driving licence, plus
Bank name, account name, sort code and account number of the account you want the refund to go to."


Hands up all those HMRC folks who are willing for HMRC to refund anything this guy pays across to the scammers.

nardberg

To answer the actual question, it is genuine not a scam.

Is the style and execution of the mailer best practice or even near to it? Not remotely, but the question was, is it from HMRC, and the answer to that appears to be yes.

Wayne_O_Mac

*opens thread*
Chris being thick again, I see. Never saw that coming.

On-the-coast

Dear HMRC... I am not your customer...
I’m not sure what the exact relationship is (being a subject of HM), but i think you work for me. I certainly pay you enough money... and receive some useful services in exchange.

badmemory

Hopefully they will in the future employ someone who understands that it is customary to use capitals for the letters HMRC & also for the initial letters of someones name. Not banking on it though. But these are things which mark something out as spam even if this isn't.