HMRC has refuted claims that it has been the target of deliberate hacking attacks organised by criminals during the run-up to the self assessment filing deadline, but says phishing attempts have been used to divert refunds due to taxpayers
A report in the Sunday Times suggested HMRC had identified 17,000 attempts to claim almost £100m in bogus tax repayments. In such instances, criminals used the log-in details and password after an individual filed their online tax return to alter the details and request a repayment to an account under their control.
However, HMRC said that systems had not been compromised, with criminals gaining personal information via other means, such as phishing or viruses on an individal’s PC. The attempted frauds were detected as a result of digital monitoring of 3.4m accounts.
An HMRC spokesperson said: ‘Our online services have not been hacked and remain secure. We take our obligations around protecting customer data extremely seriously and have systems in place to review suspicious activity and monitor access to accounts.It's only right that when appropriate we contact taxpayers and any agents acting to alert them to any concerns’
HMRC said that taxpayers needed to take care with their log-in details and passwords, to make sure they were safeguarded at all times, and warned against using shared computers such as those in an office or internet cafe to complete their tax return.
It is advising individuals and agents to consult the government’s online security advice channel, Get Safe Online, available here
There is also specific HMRC information for tax agents here
