HMRC is alerting business owners to a fraudulent letter circulating that impersonates the tax authority and demands confidential information and bank statements.
The letter, which bears a fake HMRC letterhead and claims to be from the “Indv and Small Business Compliance” team, requests that businesses verify their financial details. A key way to identify the scam is by checking the email address provided, which is clearly fraudulent. Genuine HMRC emails always include the Government domain name, gov. uk.
The letter falsely claims to be part of a Government initiative to verify declared income to combat tax evasion and fraud. It asks businesses to submit digital copies of business bank statements for the past 13 months, VAT returns filed accounts, and full profit and loss accounts.
Smaller companies, which often report under micro accounts or filled-out accounts rules, may find this particularly concerning.
Alarmingly, the scammers also request digital copies of passports or driving licences, explicitly stating that “paper copies and screenshots will not be accepted.” The letter concludes with a message claiming that HMRC will inform the recipient if further documents are needed.
While the English used in the letter is generally good, some odd terminology and grammatical errors reveal its fraudulent nature. The biggest red flag is the response email, “companies-review@hmrc-taxchecks.org”, which is clearly not legitimate. HMRC rarely requests information by email, typically communicating via letter or the online portal.
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