Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the support offered by HMRC to self-assessment customers who have been victims of scams by people impersonating HMRC.

The HMRC Customer Protection Team is responsible for reporting known cases, requesting removal of suspicious websites, and raising awareness among the general public of how to identify scams and avoid becoming victims of fraud. HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is responsible for the department’s civil and criminal investigations into the most serious fraud and wrongdoing. FIS ensures that HMRC has an effective approach to tackling the most serious tax evasion and fraud.

HMRC encourages customers to report scams through reporting mechanisms directly to HMRC or through Action Fraud.

The channels through which suspicious activity can be reported to HMRC are:

Suspicious emails – phishing@hmrc.gov.uk

Suspicious text – 60599

Suspicious phone calls – Report suspicious HMRC emails, text messages and phone calls - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)