Protecting Yourself from Scams
With the rise in scams hot in the news recently, we take a look at guidance from HMRC and the National Cyber Security Centre on what to look out for to help protect yourself and your business from scammers.
How to recognise tax scam phone calls, emails and text messages
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have recently published updated their guidance on how to identify tax scams made by phone, email, or text.
They advise that if you receive a phone call, email, or text message that purports to be from HMRC, it is likely to be fake if it:
- rushes you;
- is threatening;
- is unexpected;
- asks for personal information, such as bank details;
- tells you to transfer money; or
- offers a refund, tax rebate or grant.
HMRC also confirm what they will and won’t do if they contact you.
By phone:
HMRC will never threaten arrest or leave a voicemail threatening legal action.
By text:
HMRC do send text messages that may include a link to GOV.UK information or HMRC webchat. They will never ask for personal or financial information. So, a text message that offers a tax refund in exchange for personal or financial details cannot be from them.
By WhatsApp:
If you have subscribed to the UK Government Channel, you may receive occasional tax-related reminders, but you will not be able to reply. HMRC don’t otherwise use WhatsApp to communicate with taxpayers.
HMRC does use QR codes in its letters to take you to guidance on GOV.UK, but they confirm that you would never be taken to a page that requires you to provide personal information. QR codes might also be used after you have already logged in to redirect you to, say, your bank login page.
To check whether a phone call, email or text is genuine by consulting HMRC’s website – CLICK HERE
To view more guidance, including some examples of HMRC related phishing emails, suspicious phone calls and texts – CLICK HERE
If you are concerned about any phone calls, emails, or texts that you have received from HMRC, please do not hesitate to contact us and we will be happy to help identify whether or not it is genuine!
Guidance for small businesses using online services
The National Cyber Security Centre have issued some new guidance on ‘Using online services safely’.
To avoid having to set up and manage their own IT infrastructure, many small businesses use online or cloud services. For instance, these might include email, online storage, online accounting and managing of invoicing, website hosting and social media.
The guidance is designed to help small businesses reduce the likelihood of cyber attacks when using these services.
The guidance provides help on:
- Choosing a good service,
- Backing up critical data,
- Protecting the domain name you use for your website and email addresses,
- Creating separate user accounts and securing them,
- Protecting your admin accounts,
- Defending against malware,
- Using the security features that are built into the service, and
- Recovering a hacked account or service.
If you are a small business without the resources to employ a dedicated IT specialist, this advice can help you to consider and cover off the risks you face when using online services.
For the guidance – CLICK HERE
Folkes Worton LLP Chartered Accountants
Accounting for the Future