Warning over new phone scam that threatens people with lawsuit
The scam sees people received a phone call from someone claiming to be from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) who says they will be filing a lawsuit if they are not paid immediately.
Nottinghamshire County Council's Trading Standards team has received a number of complaints about the scam, which requires the caller to 'press one to speak to a caseworker in order to make an immediate payment'.
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Hide AdBut HMRC has confirmed that it is a scam, along with any telephone calls offering a tax refund if the caller provides bank or credit card information.
The calls have been made using a variety of phone numbers and HMRC is asking anyone received a call like this to email them at [email protected].
Councillor Gordon Wheeler, Vice-Chairman of the Council’s Communities and Place Committee, said: “There are currently a wide range of scams purporting to be from the HMRC involving payments and refunds, which can also be in the form of an email or a direct message via social media.
“These telephone calls in particular put people on the spot and require them to make a quick decision, so we are urging people to ignore all such calls.”
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Hide AdA 65-year-old Nottinghamshire woman who received a message claiming to be from the HMRC said: “Having just retired it was alarming and upsetting to receive an answerphone message informing me that HMRC had a warrant out for me for my arrest.
“I had to press one on my phone to speak to a caseworker and thankfully this was followed by a dead tone. I’ve contacted the HMRC and they told me they only ever contact people by letter, never by email or phone call.
“I have been a very risk adverse person over the years so I felt very stupid afterwards.”