Beware 'HMRC' phone scams - surge in calls telling victims they owe taxman £1,000s - MSE News

Former_MSE_Callum

Fraudsters are increasingly carrying out sophisticated phone scams which can involve them threatening victims with immediate arrest if they don't pay £1,000s on the spot - and bogus calls in some cases appear to come from HMRC's telephone number. If you receive an urgent demand to pay tax over the phone, beware...

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'Beware 'HMRC' phone scams - surge in calls telling victims they owe taxman £1,000s'

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thebigstillmeister

Got this call on my mobile about 15mins ago,

Automated call telling me it was HMRC and a fraud case has been issued against me and if i don't press '1' now then a warrant for my arrest will be issued immediately,

Makes a change from the 'we're calling about your recent car accident' i guess,

Neil_Jones

Had one this morning just as i was heading out to work.
I "accidentally" hung up. Which is what I suggest everybody else does.

MothballsWallet

I've had about 3 of these in the last month or so - but the scammers have (so far) always timed their calls to when I was away from my phone, so they only get my voicemail, but don't leave a message.

Why doesn't HMRC actually do something about these scum? Like find them, prosecute them and then absolutely take everything they have as punishment?

Or is it because that would require some work to be done?

LHW99

I've had one last year, but they did leave a message, and it was evident from what was said that they just hoped someone would be scared enough to ring back - HMRC wouldn't leave the type of details on an answerphone if they don't know who would be likely to pick up the phone.
Reported it, as a vulnerable person would have found it very intimidating.

JosephK

Yeah, had similar call the other day, recorded massage that arrest warrant issued:p

Tried to report to HMRC but their e-mail notification system not working - surprise, surprise. Trouble with this type of call is they keep popping up on different numbers from exchanges all round the country. Relevant authorities do not give the impression of trying too hard to stop them.

I_luv_cats

IRS / CRA Tax scams are rife, (Scam-baiting examples on Youtube) must be turning their attention to the UK

Fake IRS / CRA mainly get people to buy pre-paid cards like itunes. (Bit-coin has been used with Social Security scams)

spenderdave

It is hard to understand how people get taken in by these scams. As someone who does self assessment each year I know with certainty that I don't owe them a penny and I also know they normally communicate with me via the post - though last time they used email to remind me of my payment (not telling me the amount). Any phone call like this, even if from a plausible as against faked number, must quite definitely be a scam.

londoninvestor

thebigstillmeister wrote: »

Makes a change from the 'we're calling about your recent car accident' i guess,

Out of interest, what do they try to get out of you in those car accident calls? I've had a few but they always hang up as soon as I speak - I need to practice my innocent, unsuspecting sounding voice I guess

Kazwaz_2

I've have witnessed first hand vulnerable, elderly being taken in by this and other scams. I wouldn't be so quick to judge.
The suffering it causes is huge and diminishes confidence.
Make people aware but don't judge please

tempus_fugit

londoninvestor wrote: »

Out of interest, what do they try to get out of you in those car accident calls? I've had a few but they always hang up as soon as I speak - I need to practice my innocent, unsuspecting sounding voice I guess

I never got to find out as, like with you, they would hang up as soon as I asked them any kind of question. It just seemed like pointless harassment as I couldn't understand what they were trying to achieve. I now don't answer any calls where I don't know the number, so just avoid all such calls. They are not worth it.