Be on your guard for tax phone scam

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is warning about a telephone scam involving thieves making phone calls pretending to be the taxman. The warning comes amid a recent surge in the number of tax scam ‘phishing’ emails reported to HMRC.

Tax rebate call

The fraudsters call saying you are due a tax rebate, and ask for your bank card details over the phone. They then attempt to take money from your account using the details provided. You risk having your bank account emptied and your personal details sold on to other organised criminal gangs.

If you receive such a phone call, do not give any information to the caller, but report it to the police straightaway.

• Police Service of Northern Ireland (crime, justice and the law section)

If you receive an email claiming to be from HMRC, you should send it to HMRC for investigation before deleting it permanently. You can send to to the following address:

• email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

If you are due a tax refund, HMRC will only ever contact you in writing by post. It never uses telephone calls, emails or external companies in these circumstances.