HM Revenue & Customs has saved the public more than £2.4m by tackling fraudsters that trick the public into using premium rate phone numbers for services the tax office provides for free.
HMRC has tackled the rise of scammers, who create websites that look similar to its official site and then direct the public to call numbers with extortionate costs in comparison to the little or no cost service that the tax office provides.
These sites promote non-HMRC premium rate phone numbers as a means of reaching HMRC but these are merely call forwarding services.
HMRC has now successfully challenged the ownership of websites, masquerading as official websites, by taking them out of the hands of cheats.
Analysis has shown that had HMRC not taken this action then the public would have lost £2.4m to these phone scams.
Mel Stride, MP and financial secretary to HM Treasury, said: "We know that HMRC is the most spoofed government brand as criminals try to take advantage of the fact that everyone has some involvement with the tax authority.
"In this particular case, scammers try to dupe the public into paying large sums for services that are available for free or low cost.
"This is a brazen con, charging premium rates whilst simply redirecting calls to the real HMRC numbers that are available at low or no cost. It is a testament to the hard work of HMRC that they have prevented criminals extracting £2.4m from the public."
The news marks Scams Awareness Month, which is encouraging anyone who has fallen foul of false phone numbers to speak up, so that the practice can be stamped out.
Dennis Hall, chief executive of Yellowtail Financial Planning, said: "I think it is great that HMRC are owning the problem, as they should.
"Personally, I am not going out of my way to advise clients about specific scams, but do provide regular reminders about general financial fraud. There shouldn't be an expectation for advisers to do anything except be aware, and where appropriate warn their clients."
aamina.zafar@ft.com
