Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
Murray Beith Murray LLP is a leading Scottish private client law firm.
For 175 years we have specialised in meeting the legal, financial and administrative needs of individuals and families, family trusts, charities and private companies.
"This call is to notify you that a criminal case is registered against your name for tax evasion and tax fraud by HMRC. We are investigating your financial activities and an arrest warrant has been issued under your name. Get more information about this case. Press 1 before we proceed with legal action. Thank you."
Answering the phone to this message certainly makes the blood run cold. You are pretty sure all your tax is up to date, but what if you’ve missed something? Surely HMRC wouldn’t be contacting taxpayers by phone, but what if this is their new method of communication? It’s clearly a recorded message, but most of HMRC phone lines now use recorded messages.
Presented with a message such as the above, the mind has a funny way of playing tricks on you. Doubts creep in, and it’s easy to convince yourself that what you have heard is genuine.
Unfortunately, in the last few weeks, we have seen an increased number of clients being contacted with this exact, or very similar, messages purporting to be from HM Revenue & Customs. The worldwide spam protection service ‘Hiya’ recently published their Global Call Threat Report for 2024, which detailed HMRC tax scams as the most prevalent scam in the UK. In the majority of cases, this takes the form of a prerecorded robocall threatening legal action for unpaid tax.
There is also growing anxiety around the increasingly potent nature of some scams through the use of AI deepfake voice scams, where AI can be used to clone a voice to make scam calls sound more convincing.
In order to combat the growing number of suspicious communications sent in their name, HMRC have opened a service for taxpayers to report communications which they don’t feel are genuine. This can be found at the following link:
Report suspicious HMRC emails, texts, social media accounts and phone calls - GOV.UK
In addition, HMRC have helpfully clarified that they will never leave a voicemail threating legal action, threatening arrest or asking for personal/financial information over the phone. This should be reassuring to taxpayers when looking to decipher whether a call is genuine or not.
If you are unsure whether the HMRC contact is genuine, it is always better to proceed with caution, hang up and contact HMRC separately to request confirmation on whether the request is a genuine one.
If this article has raised any questions or you would like to discuss your affairs with our specialist lawyers or tax advisors then please complete our contact form or call 0131 225 1200.
Murray Beith Murray LLP is a private client practice, made up of specialist lawyers from a variety of legal disciplines, including experts in asset protection and estate planning. The firm was established in 1849, as advisors for generations of clients, committed to our values of integrity, expertise and trust. This aim and these values continue to this day as does our commitment to be here when you need us.
