HMRC-based Phishing E-mails Target Englishmen

Citizens of famous city 'Suffolk' (East Anglia, UK) need to watch out for e-mails that pose as messages from HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs), a warning suggests.

In Suffolk, scammers are targeting recipients entitled to a tax reimbursement. They are using an e-mail ID - securemail@hmrc.gov.uk.

Any recipient, who opens this message, would find an instruction to follow certain web-link that points to a list showing the names of different banks. Upon selecting one of these banks, he would find a message that directs to enter personal banking information.

But the e-mail is certainly not from them, according to HMRC.

According to Suffolk Constabulary, all recipients of this e-mail should delete the message without responding to it with any personal information, as reported by Eveningstar on January 8, 2010.

Moreover, recipients may contact HMRC in case they want to check the veracity of the e-mail. It is also advised that they must contact Suffolk Police by going to its website.

In another instance of a similar fake e-mail from HMRC, Baker Tilly, a national accountants' office at Chester (Cheshire, North West England), is cautioning the local companies to remain vigilant.

The e-mail is posing as a message from test@test.com (the HMRC Online service). It also states that there is a fresh alert message for the recipient for which he must log in to his account to read the details.

But the security experts state that this e-mail isn't from HMRC. Therefore, if anyone receives it, he must forward it to phishers@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

Graham Garner-Jones, Tax Partner of Baker Tilly, states that business organizations should be careful of scams such as this. Besides, there is a special segment on HMRC's website that describes certain Internet scams while mentioning their fake e-mail IDs, as reported by Chesterchronicle on January 8, 2010.

Meanwhile, it is recommended that inhabitants especially businessmen may refer to the mentioned list of fake e-mail IDs if they doubt any address. They can also know about the scams' details that HMRC are aware of by visiting the Revenue & Customs website and browsing its security page.

Related article: HMRC - Fake Refund E-mails Tricking Tax Payers

» SPAMfighter News - 1/19/2010