It’s just not cricket!

If like me you find the timing of the Ashes causing sleepless night at the moment – the message notification at 3am of another England opener going cheaply – then you probably need to leave your phone out of the bedroom.

On the subject of messages keeping you awake at night, one thing you can be sure of is it will not be HMRC sending you alarming messages in the middle of the night. I have recently had a few clients contact me with a spate of supposed messages from HMRC claiming refunds were due back and asking my clients to confirm certain details.

I can assure you that these are phishing emails and texts, as HMRC will never use texts or emails to tell a taxpayer about a tax rebate or penalty. Neither will they send emails or texts asking for personal payment information.

HMRC offer a service where you can forward suspicious text messages to 60599 and emails to their phishing team, phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk. This may not be something most taxpayers will think to do, however unless they are reported these scams will continue.

If you think you have given out any personal information to a suspicious text or email then you can contact us and the HMRC security team, security.custcon@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

As these scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated it can be hard be spot. So the rule is never respond without checking with your accountant first.  At Perrys we cannot guarantee England will bring the Ashes home, but we can help ensure you’ll never be caught out when it comes beating these scams.

For more information please contact me.

Article written by Dave Horn