This week we have seen a number of clients have received letters in the post pertaining to be from HMRC. These letters are showing outstanding PAYE and VAT liabilities, and in their appearance look very genuine. The VAT number was correct, the PAYE reference was only one letter and two digits different so we would like to warn all clients not to just pay based on receiving a demand.
If you receive a letter from HMRC, even if it’s one not demanding payment, an easy way to check the validity of the letter is to put the telephone number into a search engine, and in the cases that we have seen, this shows to be a HMRC scam telephone number.
It’s also advisable to email the details of the suspicious letter to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk so they are aware of the possible scam. We have also reported these recent cases to action fraud.
Remaining vigilant is key and adopting a few new habits could make all the difference. If in doubt, please contact us before taking any further action.
