Stay up to date on this new scam imitating HMRC letters

If you receive a letter from HMRC asking for any personal or tax information to be provided by email, please get in touch with us before you respond. We’ve received information about a new scam letter which is very realistic and closely resembles a genuine HMRC letter.

The majority of HMRC scams come via email and are generally easy to spot. This letter scam is tricker as it looks like a real HMRC letter in terms of the address, letter format and the tone of the writing.

This particular scam claims to be from “Indv and Small Business Compliance” which is very similar to the name of a genuine HMRC department. The scam letter asks for email copies of information such as bank statements, accounts, VAT returns as well as a copy of a passport or driving licence. It requests that they are send to a fake email address “companies-review@hmrc-taxchecks.org”. It also contains a fake tax reference at the top of the letter.

Where there is one scammer, there may be more. If you receive a letter from HMRC that you aren’t sure about, there are a couple of steps that you can take to verify if it’s real.

• Check the reference given on the letter. Does it match the relevant personal or company UTR, payroll reference or VAT number? However, not all genuine HMRC letters contain a reference, such as their reminder campaigns which are more general.
• Is the letter asking you to email information? HMRC may agree that information can be emailed as part of an ongoing tax check, but it would not be requested in an initial letter.
• If you have any doubts, please send end us a copy of the letter and we can review the contents and if necessary, check with HMRC on your behalf.

If you need further guidance or advice our team would be happy to help. You can contact them by calling 01246 274121 or by emailing consult@mitchellsaccountants.co.uk