Watch out for the tax rebate scam – it could cost you

We all love the idea of a surprise tax rebate. Free money from HMRC? Yes, please! But be careful, because for thousands of people, that exciting news is actually part of a cruel and convincing scam.

What’s the scam?

You might get a text, email or phone call that looks like it’s from HMRC. It could say you’re owed a tax refund, or it might threaten legal action if you don’t pay tax you supposedly owe.

The scammers can even spoof the caller ID, so it looks like HMRC is genuinely contacting you.

The message usually:

• looks official and might include the HMRC logo and branding
• asks you to click a link to claim your refund or make a payment
• sends you a convincing fake website where you’re asked to enter personal or banking details

From July 2024 to July 2025, over 170,000 scams like this were reported to HMRC and 47,000 of those were fake tax refunds.

These scams are especially common around tax return deadlines, when you might be expecting to hear from HMRC.

What HMRC will never do

HMRC has confirmed they will never:

• ask you to click a link to claim a refund
• call or message you threatening legal action or arrest
• leave voicemails asking for personal or financial info

How you can protect yourself

Here’s how to help stay safe from these types of scams:

• Check the website address (URL) as it should always end in gov.uk.
• Don’t trust unexpected calls. Hang up and call HMRC directly using the number on their official website.
• Check your HMRC account. Log in through the official site to see any real messages.

• HMRC has a list of reasons they might contact you and how they’ll do it. You can check this list to see what a real message from them looks like.

Report scam messages to HMRC. You can forward emails to [email protected] and texts to 60599.