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Self-Assessment scammers warning as January deadline nears

Newsletter issue – January 2025

It's sadly become all too common a trend in recent times, that the Self-Assessment Tax Returns deadline has become a time for criminals to exploit and target.

Attempts to scam the self-employed and others filling out their forms before the 31 January are ramping up, officials have warned.

In particular, taxpayers have been cautioned to look out for so called 'refund scams'. Watch out for emails that take this approach.

HMRC received nearly 150,000 referrals about possible scams in the last year. Around half of all scam reports (71,832) in the last year were fake tax rebate claims.

And it seems to be rising more and more as we approach the key deadline, with a reported 16.7% increase in all scams flagged to the tax man. Some 144,298 came between November 2023 and October 2024, up from 123,596 in the previous 12-month period.

The target for fraudsters is huge: there are millions of people due to complete their tax return and pay their taxes before 31 January.

In a statement, HMRC warned: 'Fraudsters are targeting people with offers of tax refunds or demanding payment of tax to get hold of personal information and banking details.

'HMRC will never leave voicemails threatening legal action or arrest, or ask for personal or financial information over text message - only fraudsters and criminals will do that.'

Kelly Paterson, Chief Security Officer at HMRC, said: 'Being vigilant helps you spot potential scams. And reporting anything suspicious helps us stop criminal activity and to protect you and others who could have received similar bogus communication. Our advice remains unchanged. Don't rush into anything, take your time and check 'HMRC scams advice' on GOV.UK.'

Further advice from HMRC:

  • If you are contacted by someone claiming to be from HMRC and they ask you for their personal information a tax rebate, check the advice on GOV.UKto help identify if it is a scam
  • report suspicious 'phishing emails' to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk
  • report tax scam phone calls to HMRC on GOV.UK
  • forward suspicious texts claiming to be from HMRC to 60599
  • HMRC will not contact you by email, text, or phone to announce a refund or ask you to request one
  • Anyone due a refund can claim it via the online HMRC account or app