Police tell public to put down the phone on scammers after reports of fake HMRC calls
Police are warning people to stay vigilant after they received calls about scammers claiming to be from HMRC Picture GETTY IMAGES/ iSTOCKPHOTO - Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Residents are being warned to be vigilant following concerns surround cold callers in the county who are purporting to be from HMRC.
In Suffolk officers received around 100 calls last week from residents concerned about such calls.
In most cases, scammers have claimed to be from HMRC stating that the person involved owes payment for a fine.
Often this includes leaving a message on answer phones asking the public to call to make payments/ threatening arrest for non-payment and requesting Itunes vouchers or bitcoins used to pay the debt - these then ask the recipients to call them to make payment or read the codes off the back of vouchers.
A spokesman for Suffolk police said: “Residents should put the phone down on these callers and no money/ vouchers should ever be handed over as these are scam calls.”
HMRC have warned residents not to give out private information such as bank details and not to respond to messages they weren’t expecting.
They say that any suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC should be sent to to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and texts to 60599 so they can be looked at.
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An HMRC spokesperson said: “HMRC takes security extremely seriously. We are aware that some people have received telephone calls from individuals claiming to be from HMRC. We have a well-known brand, which criminals abuse to add credibility to their scams.
“These scams often involve people receiving a call out of the blue and being told that HMRC is investigating them. If you can’t verify the identity of the caller, we recommend that you do not speak to them.”
