Spam emails pretending to be from HMRC
10th March 2011
There have been some malicious emails doing the rounds lately, pretending to be from the HMRC and informing you that you’re owed a tax refund.
A screenshot of one such email is below. This one prompts the recipient to click a link – others have contained attachments which you’re asked to fill in – and downloading unknown email attachments is a big no-no!
A huge warning sign on this email is the fact that it asks you for your bank account details – never give out details like this via email. The line detailing how your payment could be delayed has an air of authority about it, but in actual fact is more likely just delaying you following it up, to help the scamsters get further away before they’re chased!
As for the link – “Refund me now” sounds like a catch phrase from a quiz show, not an official line from an HMRC email. It sounds salesy – so don’t fall for it! And make sure you read our article on understanding links - as that would help confirm your suspicions that this email is a fraud.
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