A Midlands accountancy firm has issued a warning against scam phone calls claiming to be from HM Revenue and Customs to fraudulently obtain personal information and financial details.
Tamworth-based accountants Ashford Green said that there had been a spate of such phishing calls from Midlands area codes and mobile numbers in recent weeks.
Jonathan Ashford, Director, said that his team had received an alarming number of reports in the past week and were keen to share a warning for those who may not have realised the calls were a scam.
‘We have had a disturbing number of reports from our clients over the last few days whereby they are being contacted from a variety of regional or mobile phone numbers, which appear legitimate, but are then connected to an automated message purporting to be from HMRC.
“Essentially, these are scam calls with the purpose of extracting payment card details or sufficient personal and financial information from individuals to enable the scammers to access funds from their accounts or in their names.
“Naturally, such calls make people anxious – there is always an innate fear connected to HMRC communications, and people are understandably caught off guard and fear that they’ll accrue fines and such if they don’t respond at once.
“This is why it’s essential that people understand that HMRC will never contact people by phone, email or text – the onus is always on the individual to call them – and will only ever communicate via letter.
“Anyone receiving these calls or messages should hang up immediately and may wish to make a note of the time and number the call was made from the report directly to HMRC. Under no circumstances should they stay connected and share any information with the caller,” he added.
To report a phishing call, email the details of the phone number the call came from, the number it was made to, the time and date of the call and a brief description of its content to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.
