Rise in Fraudsters Making Fake HMRC Calls - Deckchair Care

Victims of phone scams can often be older or more vulnerable.

An increasing number of scammers are using landline phone calls to con people out of money.

HM Revenue and Customs said it received 60,000 reports of phone scams in the six months to January 2019 – up 360% compared with the previous six months.

The best advice is always be suspicious of cold calls. End the call and contact the company or government department separately using a phone number taken from a piece of official correspondence or their website.

Helping the Elderly Avoid Hoax Calls

HMRC said criminals were turning to more traditional scams such as cold calling publicly available phone numbers such as landlines.

It said it had worked with Ofcom to shut down nearly 450 lines being used by scammers in the past year.

Very often fraudsters threatens legal action, to put people in jail, or ask for payment using vouchers.

Simply hang-up and report it to HMRC who can work to take them off the network.

HMRC said it would only ever call and ask for a payment if that person was already aware of. Simply hang up and call back using a number from a correspondence.

In summary, don’t assume people are who they say they are.

About Deckchair Care

Deckchair Care are an independent, privately-owned care agency. We look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester.