How good are you at spotting a scam?
“Dear Most Esteemed Customer,
On behalf of HMRC,
it is with great pleasure that I write to you to help you claim your latest
refund.
Please just click
here and enter all your personal details. Then, just transfer all your money
into an unnamed dodgy overseas account and we will transfer it back to you,
together with your refund…
Have a glorious day,
HMRC (His Majesty’s
Retinue and Cushions)”
Did you suss the glaring giveaway? Of course – everyone knows that the
‘H’ in HMRC stands for ‘Her’.
There are plenty of fraudulent emails doing the rounds at the moment.
Would you be taken in if you were told that you’d been left a huge sum of money
in a complete stranger’s will?
What if you had the opportunity to invest in pieces of rock from the
1969 moon landing at £7,500.00 apiece?
Whatever you do, be alert.
HMRC is warning of several new phishing scams to beware of, although
point out that emails from them relating to VAT EU refunds are, in fact, genuine.
They are also sending out bona fide letters to tax credit recipients inviting
them to partake in a short telephone survey.
However, in both cases, no personal or financial information will ever be
requested, and, if you’re in any doubt as to the validity of the communication,
you are advised to do nothing until you have verified it.
Ps. We’ve had a few queries about the moon rock scam and are pleased to
point out that a piece of the moon is worth a lot more than £7,500.00. Well, that’s
certainly what we were led to believe when we bought 3 chunks of it for the
boardroom last year. We even have the certificate of authentication.
