Tax credits customers warned about scammers posing as HMRC

About 2.1 million tax credits customers are expected to renew their annual claims by 31 July 2022 and could be more susceptible to the tactics used by criminals that mimic government messages to make them appear authentic.

In the 12 months to April 2022, HMRC responded to nearly 277,000 referrals of suspicious contact received from the public. Fraudsters use phone calls, text messages and emails to try and dupe individuals – often trying to rush them to make decisions. HMRC will not ring anyone out of the blue threatening arrest.

Typical scam examples include:

• Phone calls threatening arrest if people don’t immediately pay fictitious tax owed. Sometimes they claim that the victim’s National Insurance number has been used fraudulently.
• Emails or texts offering spurious tax rebates, bogus COVID-19 grants or claiming that a direct debit payment has failed

HMRC does not charge tax credits customers to renew their annual claims and is also urging them to be alert to misleading websites or adverts designed to make them pay for government services that should be free, often charging for a connection to HMRC phone helplines.

Customers can renew their tax credits for free via GOV.UK or the HMRC app and are advised to search GOV.UK to get the genuine information and guidance.