HMRC warning: Britons conned by ‘tax rebate’ text scam - key warning signs to look out for

HMRC, formally known as Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, offers help to millions of Britons with taxes each year. However, there may be some circumstances where a person has paid too much tax for a variety of reasons, and therefore could be entitled to a refund. This is known as a tax rebate, and understandably, many Britons would jump at the news of receiving money back from overpaid tax.

But such an action could have potentially devastating consequences for those who fall for the scam.

Often, scammers will use the personal details a person enters into the website for nefarious purposes.

A person could find they have their identity stolen, or their bank details harvested and used for large purchases.

A number of Britons have reported having been targeted by this new and dangerous scam, and warned others not to be victimised.

HMRC has previously provided Express.co.uk with important guidance when it comes to messages which purport to be from the Revenue.

An HMRC spokesperson said: “Criminals use a range of techniques in tax-related phone scams, including calling taxpayers and offering a bogus tax refund, or threatening them with arrest if they don’t immediately pay fictitious tax owed.

“These scams sometimes target the elderly and vulnerable. We are a well-known brand, which criminals abuse to add credibility to their scams.

“If someone calls, emails or texts claiming to be from HMRC, saying that you can claim financial help, are due a tax refund or owe tax, or asks for bank details, it might be a scam.

“Over the last year HMRC reported 3,387 phone numbers being used in tax-related phone scams to telecommunication companies for takedown, and responded to over 306,219 reports of phone scams from the public, an increase of 47 percent on the previous year.”