Self-assessment taxpayers warned to watch out for bogus refunds and cash demands

People are at increased risk of falling victim at this time of year, with the self-assessment filing deadline having recently passed, HMRC said.

Self-assessment taxpayers are being warned by HM Revenue and Customs to watch out for scam emails, texts and calls which may offer a ‘refund’ or demand unpaid tax (PA) (PA Archive)

Self-assessment taxpayers are being warned to watch out for scam emails, texts and calls which may offer a “refund” or demand unpaid tax.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said people should be on guard, with more than 570,000 scams having been reported in the past year.

It said that customers were at increased risk of falling victim at this time of year, with the self-assessment filing deadline having recently passed.

HMRC gave customers an extra month to submit a completed tax return. Those filing by February 28 2022 avoided a late-filing penalty.

People now have until April 1 to pay their outstanding tax bill or set up a time to pay arrangement to avoid receiving a late payment penalty.

Criminals will try to steal money or personal information, using phone calls, texts and emails and often mimic government messages to appear authentic.

The scams may not mention self-assessment but appear to be genuine HMRC communications.

In the 12 months to January 2022, nearly 220,000 scams reported to HMRC offered bogus tax rebates.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer services, said: “If someone contacts you saying they’re from HMRC, wanting you to transfer money or give personal information, be on your guard.

“Never let yourself be rushed, and if you’re in any doubt then check our ‘HMRC scams’ advice on gov.uk.”

A list of the payment methods customers can use to pay their self-assessment tax bill is available on gov.uk.

People can report suspect calls using a form on gov.uk. They can forward suspect emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599.