People in Gedling borough are being targeted by scammers pretending to be from HMRC in the run-up to the self-assessment deadline.
Fraudsters have been leaving recorded messages on the phones of potential victims telling them they owe thousands of pounds in tax and then go on to make the threat of ‘legal consequences’ if the person fails to pay up.
The message then goes on to warn that if they don’t hear back from the victim or solicitors then they will need to be ‘ready to face the legal consequences.
If you do receive such a message, the official advice from HMRC is to ignore it.
A HMRC spokesperson said: “We’ll only ever call you asking for payment on a debt that you are already aware of, either having received a letter about it, or after you’ve told us you owe some tax – for example, through a self-assessment return.”
If you’re in doubt about the authenticity of any call or message claiming to be from HMRC, you should hang up and contact HMRC using one of its official numbers – or online services available from Gov.uk.
One person who didn’t wish to be named told Gedling Eye the were left ‘scared’ by the scam.
They said: “I received a call and I was terrified it was real. I don’t have thousands of pounds and just run a small business. I luckily managed to look online and fing that others had received similar calls, so I didn’t bother responding.
He added: “Just make your readers aware that they shouldn’t fall for this.”
You can report any concerns to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or visiting Actionfraud.police.uk.
You can forward any suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk and texts to 60599.