Fake, fraudulent, or phishing emails are an unfortunate side-effect of the digital age. With fraudsters using ever more sophisticated technology to make their emails look legitimate, how can we tell genuine HMRC emails from the fakes?
You might think that you just need to look at the email address to see if an email is from a legitimate source. This used to be the case, but now fraudsters have the ability to spoof email addresses, so they can make it look like their phishing email is from a legitimate HMRC email address. This means we have to look for other clues to identify a fraudulent email.
A legitimate HMRC email WON’T:
- Offer a tax rebate or repayment
- Ask for personal information such as address, bank details or UTR
- Require you to respond ‘urgently’ or within a few days
- Contain attachments (unless you have given prior consent to receive these)
A legitimate HMRC email WILL:
- Usually be addressed specifically to you (not ‘Sir’ or ‘Madam’)
- Always include information about how to report fraudulent or phishing emails to HMRC
Other things to look out for:
- Poor spelling & grammar
- Website links that take you to pages asking for personal or financial information
- Email addresses which are similar to but not the same as the legitimate HMRC email addresses
If you are worried about spotting a fake email, it’s important to remember that here at E R Grove compliance is at the heart of everything we do. It is highly unlikely that HMRC would be writing to notify you of something that we had not already informed you of, so if the email says you’re due a big tax rebate, but we’ve told you you’re only due 32p, unfortunately it’s our information that’s going to be right!
If you receive a fraudulent email then you should forward it to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk
Find more guidance on recognising HMRC scams including phone calls and text message scams here.
