At this time of year, self assessment taxpayers are at increased risk of falling victim to scams. They can be taken in by scam texts, emails or calls either offering a ‘refund’ or demanding unpaid tax, thinking that they are genuine HMRC communications referring to their self assessment return.

Criminals try and steal money or personal information, using phone calls, texts and emails to try and dupe citizens, and often mimic government messages to make them appear authentic.

In the 12 months to January 2022, nearly 220,000 scams reported to HMRC offered bogus tax rebates. The tax authority responded to 572,423 referrals of suspicious contact from the public.