Tax refund phishing scam steals personal data
Phishing scam targets British people promising a tax refund – instead of tax refund they have their personal data stolen.
Taxpayers are targeted by fraudsters via e-mail. They are offering a big tax refund from 2018 that waits for them if they click on the link. This refund is time sensitive: you have less than 24 hours to do it, so victims are more likely to click on it due to the time pressure.
Fraudsters are faking the official Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs government website and use a website that has the same logo, color scheme, font, etc.
On fake website they want you to put in sensitive personal information.
Sharing information like that can lead to many dangerous outcomes such as identity theft.
Always remember to:
- check if you’re on the official website (sometimes even clicking on the address on the tab helps)
- never put any personal information if website is sent via link
- contact official institutions if you have questions.