#cyberfraud | #cybercriminals | How scammers take advantage of stressed-out taxpayers | Money

#cyberfraud | #cybercriminals | How scammers take advantage of stressed-out taxpayers | Money

As the self-assessment tax return deadline looms this week, the pressure is on for millions of self-employed workers and business owners. Getting the paperwork in on time is an annual headache – and that pressure may make them more susceptible to scams.


In the last year, HMRC has received 900,000 reports of suspicious phone calls, texts and emails – most promising tax rebates. And they are becoming more sophisticated and increasingly convincing.


With a galling similarity to official communications – using the same logo and seemingly official reference numbers – emails from fraudsters ask recipients to click on a PDF attachment, which then requires them to fill in their bank details.


Calls from numbers which look identical to HMRC are also increasing. They can even include Government Gateway account numbers – which makes them very easy to fall for, and infuriating for those who succumb.


“We are human, so we can make mistakes. Even cautious people click on malicious attachments or links,” says Jake Moore, a specialist at internet security company ESET. As the scams spread to social media, where many people may not be expecting to be contacted about tax details, and via direct messaging through Facebook and WhatsApp, there is one simple rule to remember – HMRC stresses it never uses any social media to offer a tax rebate, or ask for personal or financial information.


The scams do not always come in the enticing form of a promised rebate. Calls can be far more threatening, telling their target they owe money and will be arrested for tax fraud or have their bank account frozen within hours if they don’t pay.


Be on the alert for automated calls. Ray Walsh from ProPrivacy.com particularly warns about accepting so-called “robocalls”, which aim to trick people into p ..

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