Warning of tax scams targeting university students

The HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned that university students are being targeted by scammers with fake tax refunds in an effort to steal money and personal details.

The scammers are using seemingly legitimate university email addresses in order to avoid detection. They can also look like they have come from HMRC using the branding of GOV.UK and well known credit cards in attempt to look authentic. The recipient’s name and email address may be included several times within the email itself. The tax authority has received thousands of fraud reports in just a few weeks from students across the UK.

HMRC phishing advice:

• recognise the signs - genuine organisations like banks and HMRC will never contact you out of the blue to ask for your PIN, password or bank details
• stay safe - do not give out private information, reply to text messages, download attachments or click on links in emails you weren’t expecting
• take action - forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and texts to 60599
• If you suffer financial loss, contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool
• check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams and recognise genuine HMRC contact.