HMRC have revealed that a new scam is doing the rounds, targeting people on their social media, e-mail and phone.
We’re always getting told to be safe online with banks even warning us about giving out our account information.
However the latest craze involves the crooks using fake social media accounts.
The criminals are creating bogus accounts on Twitter to trick users into handing over their financial information via direct messages.
In the message, they target users telling them that they are due a tax refund, or rebate as most of us are familiar with.
Speaking of which, I’m sure I’m due one soon…(touch wood).
HM Revenue and Customs have stated that they would never offer refunds via direct messages and that anyone who receives a suspicious message, should report it immediately.
Luckily, the fake account has been shut down – which used the same avatar picture and bio as the genuine account.
The official customer service account is @HMRCCustomers.
As rebates can be significant sums of money, people can become lured into giving up their financial information in exchange for the transfer of the cash.
A spokesperson for HMRC said:
HMRC will never notify you of a tax rebate, offer you repayment, or ask you to disclose personal or financial details via Direct Message on Twitter, and we recommend that if you cannot verify the identity of an account that you do not engage with it.
Be careful online peeps!
