How to Spot a Fake HMRC Tax Rebate Letter or Text?

We all love the idea of getting some money back from HMRC in the form of a tax rebate.  Sadly, crooks and criminals have realised this as well and there are now numerous schemes out there to try and trick you into disclosing information like your bank account or card number.  They promise tax refunds but instead steal your money.  So how do you spot a fake HMRC tax rebate letter or text?

The immediate payment

There’s nothing worse than the idea of getting a letter from HMRC that tells you that you owe them money.  But one thing to be aware when spotting fakes from real letters is that HMRC will never tell you to ‘act now’ or add a sense of urgency to their communication.  If you get a letter that tells you to ring now, send the payment now or something similar, there’s a good chance this is a fake.

The reason for this is that HMRC always gives you a set period to make a payment.  It might only be 7 days if things are well overdue, but they will not write and tell you to pay something now, immediately or straight away.

Study those addresses

Some of the scammers can be pretty devious but one area that they can’t do much about is their address, either physical or digital.  So another good way to spot potential fakes is to look at the address.  If you want to see if the address is a legitimate one you can visit the HMRC website where you can find a list of their offices.

With emails, you can also look at the sender’s address.  While it might have HMRC or something similar in it, you can often spot one that isn’t quite right.  There’s also a list of known fake email account addresses on the HMRC website to check for the one you have received.

Ditch the text message

One popular way to try and scam people was to send them a text message to tell them they had a refund due.  When they followed the link, their details were then stolen.  HMRC has had a big crackdown on these texts and stopped some 90% of them.  But it is worth remembering that they will never text you about your account.

The only time you will get a text is when you log into your government gateway and they send an authorisation code to make sure it is you.  otherwise, any text saying it is from HMRC can be deleted or even forwarded to them to report.

Stick with reputable companies

Finally, when you are trying to get a tax refund of any kind, stick with reputable companies that you can research.  For example, we are based in Maidstone and we offer services for construction tax claims and builders tax refund to get back money for clients in the construction industry.  We have been in business for over 20 years and you can see our office if you are in the area.  That way you can be confident in the legitimacy of the company you are using.