The emails include a link inviting the recipient to claim a tax refund. If you click the link, you’ll be taken to a website were you're asked to enter your personal details.
Read on to learn how to spot and report this scam.
Outsmart the scammersHMRC tax refund scam email
This dodgy email uses HMRC branding to try to appear legitimate. It states: ‘After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity, we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund.’
It then tells you the amount of money you're due and includes an expiration date to urge you to act quickly. Underneath this, there’s a ‘Claim Now’ button. Clicking this takes you to a website where the scammer will phish for your details.
HMRC will never send specific tax information (such as how much you owe or any rebates due to you) by email, so if you receive this message you can be sure that it's a scam.
How to report scam emails
Scam emails should be forwarded to report@phishing.gov.uk to report them. You can also select ‘Report Spam’ on Gmail, ‘Report phishing’ on Hotmail or forward emails to abuse@yahoo.com from a Yahoo account.
source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/scammers-are-imitating-hmrc-in-fake-tax-refund-emails-av8Jk3O32XEt