Fraudsters claiming to be the taxpayer face a crackdown while HMRC blocks fraudulent calls

The VILE fraudsters claiming to be the collectors of victims' bank accounts are facing mbadive repression while HMRC blocks fraudulent calls.

Tax officials have unveiled new plans to prevent phone scammers from making unsuspecting people believe that they owe a lot to HM Revenue and Customs.

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Criminals use technology to ensure that numbers on phones match HMRC's official telephone numbers.

And thousands of people have fallen into the trap of the scam that a fraudster calls the unsuspecting taxpayer and asks him to pay the "unpaid taxes" immediately under penalty of risking prison.

Victims, including vulnerable people, are convinced that impromptu calls are sincere and are required to pay.

Last year alone, the tax authorities received reports of 104,774 telephone fraud attempts, compared with only 407 in 2016.

NO MORE "SPOOFING"

Now, in cooperation with the telephone companies and the Ofcom regulator, HMRC will prevent fraudsters from "tampering" with the actual telephone numbers used by the tax collector.

In response to this news, Treasury Finance Secretary Jesse Norman said: "This is a huge step forward in the fight against telephone fraud.

"HMRC's new controls will help protect thousands of hard-working taxpayers and their families from these heartless criminals.

"Vigilance will always be important, but it's a blow to phone cheats."

HMRC also said that starting this month, callers paying taxes or phone debts will instead enter the details of their card by typing them in the phone, rather than reading them.

Pauline Smith, head of anti-fraud, said: "Phone calls are one of the best ways for fraudsters to make contact with their victims."

25% fall into reported scams

Between April 2018 and March 2019, a phishing report sent to Action Fraud concerned fraudulent phone calls.

Smith added, "It is encouraging to see that these new controls developed by HMRC have already reduced the number of calls spoofing genuine HMRC numbers.

"If you think you have been a victim of a fraudster, please report it to Action Fraud."

Since the controls were put in place in April, the HMRC has said it has not received a single report pointing to the use of this tip, which would have resulted in a 25% decrease in scams reported compared to March.

In the last 10 months, the tax authorities reported that they had requested the removal of 1,050 telephone numbers used by fraudsters of all telecommunication systems.

Gareth Shaw, Money Manager at Watchdog Consumer?, Said, "For too long, victims of fraud had lost money that was transforming their lives for fraudsters who they thought were legitimate. .

"It can be incredibly difficult to detect the digital spoofing of numbers, so it's good to see HMRC, one of the most mimicked companies, taking steps to prevent fraudsters from exploiting their numbers." phone support and their identity.

"A cross-sectoral approach is needed to fight fraud, and it is now vital that other public bodies and public companies emulated identify with this example and collaborate with telecommunication companies and Ofcom to Prevent fraudsters from skewing their numbers and targeting the victims. "