KPSK Client Alert

One of our clients at KPSK have just told us about an email he supposedly had from HMRC.

The email apparently looked pretty official and said he was due a refund of 225. To fulfill the refund he was asked for his credit card details and CVV code.

This was not a bone fide email and we are encouraging our clients to be aware of scams using this phishing technique.

What is Phishing??

• Phishing is a scam that is used by criminals. They send out thousands of emails under the guise of banks, credit card companies, shops and as we have seen HMRC.

• Victims are encouraged to engage by clicking on a link which takes them to a bogus website, however this is really hard to tell and asks for various forms of personal details such as credit card numbers and verification codes, passwords or other personal details.

We understand that HMRC states that it is committed to maintaining high levels of security for all personal information held for their customers and do NOT send unsolicited emails requesting personal information.

If you receive an email containing an embedded link that asks you to enter any personal details, we recommend that you treat it as suspicious and do not input any personal information.

Below is the link for the HMRC website re the scams and also the scam our client received!

• www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/spoofs.htm

• www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/taxrebate-2.htm