Derbyshire police warn of new HMRC scam offering payments

Derbyshire police have warned the public not to fall victim to the latest fraud purportedly from the HMRC offering payments to residents.

By Rahmah Ghazali

Published 10th Feb 2021, 14:28 BST

Updated 10th Feb 2021, 14:32 BST

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The scam, which is reportedly being spread as a text message, says that it has issued a payment to residents in "Tier 4 as part of its promise to battle Covid-19."

The message then tells the people to proceed by visiting their "secure website", which will then require them to provide their personal details.

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The police have warned people not to fall victim to the latest HMRC scam.

The police have warned people not to fall victim to the latest HMRC scam.

The Derbyshire Police Fraud Team said: "Fraudsters try anything to get your personal details and continue to use Covid19 as an avenue.

"Please don't click on these links and remember to forward scam texts like this to 7726."

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Scams using the HMRC name are not new. In 2020 alone, more than 900,000 HMRC scams were reported.

What the scam looks like. Picture by The Derbyshire Police Fraud Team

What the scam looks like. Picture by The Derbyshire Police Fraud Team

According to news reports, HMRC said it had received 915,762 reports of HRMC scams in 2020, with more than half offering fake tax rebates.

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