The latest HMRC figures showed that 79,000 bogus tax rebate scams were reported by members of the public in the last 12 months to end January, accounting for nearly a third of known scams.

The scams were also on the rise, with HMRC’s last annual figures issued in September showing it had received 58,000 scam alerts over the previous 12-month period. This number has now shot up by more than 30% to 79,000 and is likely to rise further as fraudsters start using artificial intelligence (AI) to ramp up their criminal behaviour.

There was also a worrying increase in the total number of scams reported with a total of 207,800 instances of suspicious contact in the past year, up 14% from 181,873 for the previous 12 months.

February is seen as a prime month for scammers to prey on taxpayers, as they have just filed their self assessment returns and a sizeable number are likely to be waiting, or hoping, to receive a tax refund from HMRC.

Taxpayers who completed their tax return for the 2022 to 2023 tax year by the 31 January deadline might be taken in by an email, phone call or text message offering a tax rebate.

The scam emails are easy to fall for as they are branded as HMRC and appear to replicate the typical style of an HMRC communication. One of the easiest ways to spot a dodgy email is to check the email address as this cannot be faked at the moment.

‘These phishing scams are designed to use personal details for selling on to criminals, or to access people’s bank accounts’ HMRC warned. 

‘If a phone call, text or email is suspicious or unexpected, don’t give out private information or reply, and don’t download attachments or click on links.’

Phone calls are one of the high risk areas as scammers can fake numbers to give the impression the call is coming from an official source. HMRC warned: ‘Do not trust caller ID on phones. Numbers can be spoofed.’

HMRC will not email, text or phone a taxpayer to tell them that they are due a refund or ask them to request a refund. 

Taxpayers receive repayments into their chosen bank account, and can see any transactions in their online HMRC account and in the HMRC app.

Fake HMRC websites

There has also been a huge increase in the number of scam websites posing as official HMRC pages. In the last 12 months, HMRC identified 26,443 malicious web pages which were ripping off HMRC gov.uk pages and these were reported to internet service providers to be taken down. This was up 29% from the 20,385 identified the previous year.

These fake websites aim to deceive taxpayers and steal their personal information or money. They copy the design and branding of genuine websites so criminals can trick people into giving away their personal details. This information is then used to access people’s bank accounts or sold on the web.

Kelly Paterson, HMRC’s chief security officer, said: ‘With the deadline for tax returns behind us, criminals will now try to trick people with fake offers of tax rebates.

‘Scammers will attempt to dupe people by email, phone or texts that mimic government messages to make them appear authentic.

‘Don’t rush into anything, take your time and check HMRC scams advice.’

How to notify HMRC of scams

HMRC is reminding taxpayers to be vigilant about any potential scam activity, protect their personal information and report any suspicious activity and communications to HMRC:

•            forward emails to [email protected]   

•            report tax scam phone calls to HMRC on gov.uk via online form

•            forward suspicious texts claiming to be from HMRC to 60599