HMRC loses £47 million in online fraud
HMRC loses £47 million in online fraud
Cyberattacks have led to 100,000 personal tax accounts being illegally accessed resulting in millions being paid in unauthorised tax refunds. What’s the full story?
False accounts. Starting in 2024, fraudsters obtained taxpayers' personal data from internet phishing, which was used to set up personal tax accounts for individuals. These were used to create false claims for tax refunds, which HMRC duly paid to the tune of £47 million.
No risk to taxpayers. Various HMRC statements have made it clear that no taxpayer will suffer financial loss as a result of the bogus tax accounts and refund claims. To put taxpayers' minds at rest it's explained the action it has taken to prevent this. Where bogus personal tax accounts have been identified HMRC has closed them down, alerted login credentials and cleared the fraudulent information.
Taxpayers notified. HMRC says that if yours was one of the accounts affected you don't need to take any action. Plus, it will send you a letter explaining what's happened. The letters should be received by the end of June 2025. If you receive one it will tell you what you need to do to access your HMRC account in future.
Reprimand. HMRC's admission that it's lost millions to fraudsters came out of the blue during recent discussions with the Treasury Committee, having not given any previous notice of the problem. HMRC says arrests have now been made in connection with the fraud but, as you might expect, Treasury officials weren't impressed and dished out a stern reprimand for not being told sooner. A few more reprimands for HMRC's continuous poor performance wouldn't go amiss!
Fraud and scams. While individual taxpayers haven't lost any money, this episode is a timely reminder that fraudsters see tax and taxpayers as an easy target.
Tip. If you suspect you've been targeted by fraudsters in connection with your tax or that an unauthorised person has accessed your online tax accounts take a look at HMRC's guidance on what steps you should take.
Although HMRC paid millions to fraudsters, no taxpayer will lose out. It identified the accounts involved and corrected them. HMRC will write to you if your account was affected.
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