Taxpayers told to watch out for self assessment scams

As reported by ICAEW

In a warning to taxpayers, HMRC has revealed that more than 4,800 self assessment scams have been reported since February 2025. Separately, HMRC has launched a new tool for reporting suspicious activity in HMRC online accounts.

With a key tax deadline on the horizon – the 31 January 2026 deadline for submitting the self assessment tax return for 2024/25 and paying any tax due – HMRC has warned taxpayers that fraudsters often step up their activities at times when taxpayers “are more likely to receive correspondence from HMRC”.   

Fraudulent activity 

Figures reported by HMRC reveal the scale of the issue. In the last ten months, HMRC has: 

• received more than 135,500 reports of suspected scams, including 29,000 scams referring to fake tax refund claims; and

• closed down nearly 25,000 fake websites and phone numbers. 

Guidance from HMRC 

HMRC is encouraging taxpayers to check on GOV.UK if a communication claiming to be from HMRC is genuine. HMRC says that it will never:

• leave voicemails threatening legal action or arrest;

• ask for personal or financial information via text message or email; or

• contact taxpayers by email, text, or phone to inform them about a refund or ask them to claim one. Anyone due a refund can claim it securely through their HMRC online account or the HMRC app.

Reporting suspicious activity

HMRC has published guidance on how to report suspicious HMRC emails, texts, social media accounts and phone calls. 

In December 2025, HMRC launched an online tool that taxpayers can use to report suspicious activity in their online account, such as:

• account access codes being sent to the taxpayer’s phone when they have not tried to sign in;

• the taxpayer being unable to access their online account because their password has been changed;

• changes to the taxpayer’s tax records they did not make; and

• receiving letters or payments from HMRC they were not expecting.

Although the tool is intended for use by taxpayers, HMRC has advised that agents can also use it by:

• answering the questions in the tool based on the client’s information; and

• editing the pre-populated email that the tool will generate to send to HMRC’s Fraud Prevention Centre. Agents should indicate that they are acting on behalf of a client and can add additional information, including the details of clients when reporting multiple cases.