Taxman Cautions of Phishing Scams

Several people in UK received mails, purporting to come from HMRC. The email says if a taxpayer reveals his debit or credit card details, then his tax can be repaid directly to a credit or debit card.

The HMRC cautioned that the site was fake and showed its concerns over the matter.

The organization posted an alert on its Website saying they are aware of the scam targeting at pleading their customers to fill a form with their bank account details by offering them a large amount of tax that would be deposited directly into their accounts.

The form, displaying a tax rebate from the HMRC Premier Service (and the name Premier Services printed in a green box) is not an authentic HMRC message and should be deleted. It's a phishing attempt and employs fake e-mails and sites to dupe users into divulging personal or confidential information.

A spokesperson for HMRC stated this was the first instance of phishing for the organization. The officials were worried. They say the scam was well-planned and they were receiving enquiries at their contact centers asking about the legitimacy of the site.

The bogus e-mails alleges that the HMRC has done a review of the recipient's tax issues and has come to know that he is due a tax rebate of £70. The mail requests the recipient to click on the given link to access the tax refund form. The link, actually, leads to a fake site that is an imitation of the front page of the genuine Website of the HMRC.

The tax refund form asks for tax reference code, social security number, phone number and details of recipient's credit or debit card to which the phony rebate can be credited. The HMRC has informed the police about the matter and has started actions to shut down the fake Website that is hosted on a France-based server.

» SPAMfighter News - 12/20/2006