Email from HMRC ... or not

It is now very difficult to identify a scam email

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One of my clients phoned me recently is a very distressed state having apparently been reduced to tears and physically shaking from an earlier phone call supposedly from HMRC demanding money for fraudulent tax evasion and under threat of prision. Fortunately she did not succumbe to this attack and gave these people nothing, and I was able to reassure her that this was a scam and she did the right thing. I also advised her never to assume that any phone call or email apparently from HMRC is genuine and to always contact me before doing anything.

Following on from that, several clients have received emails supposedlly from HMRC with the heading 'Your Tax Estimate has changed'. The email does not include any links but does suggest that my client logs into their Personal Tax Account to see what the change is, As very few of my clients have signed up to Personal Tax Accounts, the email seems to be a scam as HMRC should know if a person has a Personal Tax Account or not. Thinking that these are just Notices of Coding, I checked my Agent Account on one of them and could not see that any Notices of Coding had been issued recently. I phoned the Agent Helpline and they did confirm that the email was genuine and that there has been changes in code numbers for 2019/20. I asked why they had not sent Notice of Coding by post to my clients and why I could not see a copy on my Agent Account. There was no explanatory argument to this, but the helpline operator knew what I was getting at.

Today I receive an email from Barclays warning me to watch out for scam emails from Barclays. My initial reaction is that this is actually a scam email itself. How are we to know these days?

As scammers are now so sophisticated, I am advising my clients to delete ANY emails/texts that supposedly come from HMRC without opening them and not to respond to any phone calls from HMRC and contact me if there are any queries. It is clear from the GDPR regulations that post is one of the most secure ways to communicate now so I think HMRC should consider the real possiblity that they should move back to using postal communications rather than digital communication which is full of security holes and will only get worse.

What do others think?

Replies (15)

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By Kaylee100
29th Mar 2019 10:51

I agree.
Phone calls, emails....just becoming impossible to tell.

I also think that the quality of genuine communication has fallen which also does not help with identification.

I have reverted now to calling people following emails and phones calls. i.e not really trusting anything. Perhaps slightly paranoid.

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Replying to Kaylee100:
Tornado
By Tornado
29th Mar 2019 11:29

"Perhaps slightly paranoid."

Paranoia is essentially the fear of something that is not there. Scamming is very real and very dangerous so I think that taking extra care is a very sensible approach.

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ram
By Retired Dave
29th Mar 2019 11:06

Let's face it we are being scammed constantly. There are 650 scammers in parliament, most HMRC officials will lie and cheat to get what they think they are entitled to, banks are serial liars, to be honest the only thing I now trust is my dog.

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Replying to Retired Dave:
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By Kaylee100
29th Mar 2019 11:11

There is a lot of truth in that.

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Replying to Retired Dave:
Tornado
By Tornado
29th Mar 2019 11:36

"banks are serial liars"

A client tells me that her bank says she should be doing this or that and implies that I am not giving her good advice. I then have to point out that this is the bank that she obtained compensation from for mis-selling and has again 'sold' her some products that are not really appropriate for her circumstances.

I also have to point out that everyone else who gives her 'advice' is not qualified to do so and the only legally qualified person to give her this kind of advice is me.

She does take it on board in the end, but it is difficult for some people to recognise when they are being taken advantage of.

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Replying to Retired Dave:
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By andy.partridge
29th Mar 2019 11:53

Retired Dave wrote:

to be honest the only thing I now trust is my dog.

Don't leave the fridge door open for a second with your back turned or you will lose even that.

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Replying to andy.partridge:
ram
By Retired Dave
29th Mar 2019 14:09

I'm not worried about leaving the fridge door open, however, I dare not put down a pack of Polo mints as they do "disappear". In fact he is well known for helping himself to a roll of mints off the local newsagents counter. Life's not easy when your dog is a well known kleptomaniac addicted to mints.

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Oaklea
By Chris.Mann
29th Mar 2019 11:13

The Worldwide Web was, of course, never intended for such criminal activity and, seemingly, has become a very sad and vulgar environment.
Many of my contemporaries, in conversation, are clear that they favour the internet lacking regulation and "policing". I have my doubts and, would go so far as to say that present day society is becoming more and more incapable of reasonable behaviour, within the environment. For me, it's all a sad indictment and says much about the modern age. The day to day pleasantries seem to be a thing of the past. Genuine politeness, looking out for others, all sadly disappearing.
Quite often, when the telephone rings, I'm left with a strange silence, followed by a message about either; faults with my broadband, or my computer. I have a stock response, which I'll keep to myself. It's equally vulgar but, well deserved.

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RLI
By lionofludesch
29th Mar 2019 11:28

We aren't half making a rod for our own backs with the needless use of digital services.

Old school Royal Mail - still most secure. Unbelievable.

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Replying to lionofludesch:
Oaklea
By Chris.Mann
29th Mar 2019 11:42

Yes Lion - good old Royal Mail, rarely fails, might seem a tad costly, but there's some champion Postie's. One of em's my son.

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Replying to lionofludesch:
Caroline
By accountantccole
29th Mar 2019 11:50

La Poste and Royal Mail have lost my passport this week (both claiming the other has my tracked envelope!)so I wouldn't be over confident with the blooming post either

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By Paul D Utherone
29th Mar 2019 12:08

Certainly don't succumb to pressure phone calls. My aged mother just says "I'm sorry I'm deaf and cannot hear you and my son handles all of this for me" and puts the phone down, so "This is news to me and I shall speak to my accountant to find out what it's all about. Bye" should be drilled into the client. That and never use the same phone to call back, but ring using a different device / mobile.

Emails:
- Trust nothing and no one.
- Never use a login link in an email
- never download an attached file from an unexpected email
- Always use a trusted login you know & have used before
-

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Replying to Paul D Utherone:
RLI
By lionofludesch
29th Mar 2019 12:29

Bit of a conflict between this

Paul D Utherone wrote:

- Trust nothing and no one.

and this

Quote:
- Always use a trusted login you know & have used before
-

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By Moonbeam
29th Mar 2019 13:37

Agreed

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