Coronavirus-related HMRC scam warning

We’ve become aware of several coronavirus (COVID-19) related scams purporting to be from HMRC.

CORONAVIRUS EMAIL SCAM

Bogus emails have been sent telling people they can claim a tax refund to help protect themselves from the coronavirus outbreak.

If you receive an email like this, do not reply to it and do not open any links or attachments in the message as they may contain malicious software or direct you to a bogus website. 

There are various versions of this scam, an example is below:

CORONAVIRUS SMS/TEXT MESSAGE SCAMS

‘Goodwill payment’ message
HMRC is aware of coronavirus SMS scams telling people they can claim a ‘goodwill payment’.

This is an example of the scam wording:
‘As Part of the NHS promise to battle the COV- 19virus, HMRC has issued a payment of £258 as a goodwill payment. Follow link to apply.’

Do not reply to the SMS and do not open any links in the message.

‘£250 fine’ message
Another SMS scam informs people they will be fined £250 for leaving the house more than once. The message asks recipients to call an 0800 telephone number to appeal. Do not reply to the SMS or call the phone number listed.

All HMRC related phishing emails and bogus text messages should be reported to HMRC by email at [email protected] and then deleted.

If you are unsure whether a message is genuinely from HMRC, please contact your usual Moore adviser for further guidance.