HMRC have this week revealed that online tax returns have been a huge target for fraudsters in 2016. These online criminals have been stealing taxpayers’ login details to try to hijack tax returns. The hijackers were using stolen information to claim fraudulent tax refunds. The Revenue have intercepted a staggering 17,000 fraudulent transactions, which was worth a total of £96 million.
HMRC have insisted that these attempts at theft have not come from their computer systems, and instead claimed that the cyber criminals have obtained login details from shared devices. A spokesperson for HMRC has said:
“Our online services have not been hacked and remain secure. We take our obligations around protecting customer data extremely seriously and have systems in place to review suspicious activity and monitor access to accounts. It’s only right that when appropriate we contact taxpayers and any agents acting to alert them to any concerns.”
“As one of the most phished brands in the world, HMRC has a strict protocol in place to help customers protect themselves against email scammers. Scammers use this peak in online activity to carry out increasingly sophisticated frauds and to make their phishing emails appear genuine and relevant. Cyber criminals likely used the 31 January deadline for Self-Assessment as a cover for their scams. Customers receiving an email from HMRC can check against the protocol to see whether it is genuine or a fraud.”
Recently Russian Authorities have raided the offices of a large film distribution company based in Moscow, which have been suspected of being involved in a huge financial hacking operation. Russians cyber criminals have been using specialist password hacking software to commit their fraud.
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