UK revenue and customs department warns of online fraudsters
18 Jun 2011
According to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the number of e-mails from fraudsters trying to take advantage of the tax credits deadline had increased sharply.
The deadline for people to submit tax credit renewal forms is on 31 July, prompting fraudsters to gather bank details in with their latest attempt.
An e-mail suggesting people are due a refund is doing the rounds. The mail directs them to a clone of the official HMRC website.
The unsuspecting victims are then asked to enter their debit or credit card details. The fraudsters can then empty the accounts of funds and later sell the personal details to other criminals.
Over 46,000 such e-mails have been reported to HMRC since the first tax credit renewal forms went out in the first week of April.
In the period since then, around 150 scam websites have been shut down.
