Police warn of calls from bogus HMRC staff

Police are investigating following a report of fraud which happened about 9am yesterday morning when a 61-year-old male received a phone call from a male claiming to be from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

The caller advised the male that they had an outstanding tax debt of £500, which would require immediate payment using ITunes vouchers.  They were advised to purchase the vouchers and provide the relevant serial numbers of them over the phone.

The male purchased the required amount of vouchers and passed the serial numbers as requested to the caller.

Police Constable John McLean of Livingston Police Station said:

“Often these fraudulent callers sounds extremely convincing and authentic but we would urge the public to remain vigilant.

“If they are in any doubt that it’s genuine hang up the phone and report matter to HMRC who take scams & bogus callers of any kind very seriously”.

An HMRC spokesperson said:  “HMRC takes security extremely seriously. We are aware that some people have received telephone calls from individuals claiming to be from HMRC. We are a well-known brand, which criminal’s abuse, to add credibility to their scams. HMRC will never request tax debts to be paid in payment vouchers and we are clear that they cannot be used to pay tax.

“We recommend that if you cannot verify the identity of a caller that you do not speak to them. We encourage you to check GOV.UK for information on how to avoid and report scams, recognise genuine HMRC contact and make payments to HMRC.”