This mobile telephone number is being used as part of a HMRC scam. If you receive a text like the below you are not due a tax rebate, instead you have been targeted by scammers. Keep yourself out of harms way by not clicking on the link included in this text. The mobile number was reported on the 3rd of October by a UK resident:
@HMRCcustomers hi is this text fake please? pic.twitter.com/h9KalTQ77Q
— Claire 🌹🌈 (@sundaygirl851) October 3, 2020
What is the aim of this scam?
This scam is called a smishing scam. Smishing is a for of phishing in which the initial communication from the scammers comes via text. The ultimate aim of this scam is clearly to steal your banking and personal details.
To do this the scammers set up a website called ukrebatenotice.com. This website was set up on the 29th September 2020 – 4 days before the lady tweeted about receiving the suspicious text above.
Although we haven’t visited the website above, it seems obvious that it would be designed to look like the real HMRC website. This is to lure unsuspecting victims into inputting their personal and bank details.
What should I do if I receive a text like this?
You should report the text to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk
You can also report to the company who host the website, which is Namecheap in the USA.