"HMRC: You are eligible for a tax refund of £326.40. Claim within 48 hours to avoid losing it." The link looks almost official. It's January, you've just filed your Self Assessment, and £326 would be very welcome.
HMRC impersonation works because tax is confusing, the amounts feel plausible and almost everyone has some contact with HMRC. Refunds, penalties, deadlines and codes are all things a real tax office does talk about.
Our take: you don't need to become an expert in tax scams. You need to learn three habits of the real HMRC. Anything that breaks them can go straight in the bin.
The three rules of genuine HMRC contact
According to HMRC's own guidance on GOV.UK:
- HMRC never tells you about a tax refund by text or email. A message offering a rebate by either route is fake, whatever it looks like.
- HMRC won't ask for personal or payment information by text message.
- HMRC emails only come from addresses ending in hmrc.gov.uk - and even then, a request to click through and enter bank details deserves suspicion.
Real refunds and tax changes are usually handled through your Personal Tax Account, your employer's payroll, the HMRC app or letters. If you think you might be owed money, sign in to your account on GOV.UK yourself. If there is a refund, it will be there.
The HMRC scams you are most likely to see
| Scam | How it arrives | What gives it away |
|---|---|---|
| Tax refund | Text or email with a link | HMRC never announces refunds by text or email |
| Unpaid tax and arrest threat | Recorded call or voicemail, "press 1" | Threats of immediate arrest, demands to pay now |
| Payment in unusual ways | Live call after the recorded message | Gift cards, cryptocurrency or transfers to a personal account |
| National Insurance number "suspended" | Recorded call | Your NI number can't be suspended as a punishment over the phone |
| Fake HMRC on social media | Direct message offering help | Asks for details or payment in private messages |
Many of these peak around the 31 January Self Assessment deadline and in the spring, when people expect to hear about the new tax year. Scammers follow the tax calendar, not the other way round.
Does HMRC ever phone people?
Yes, and this is where standard advice gets it wrong. "HMRC never calls" is a nice slogan, but it isn't true: HMRC does contact people by phone, for example about debts or checks on a tax return. That is precisely why phone scams using its name work.
The honest answer is that you can't reliably judge a call by the number or the voice. You can judge it by what happens next:
- A genuine caller won't threaten immediate arrest or a visit from the police.
- A genuine caller won't ask you to pay with gift cards, cryptocurrency or into a personal bank account.
- A genuine caller won't mind you hanging up and calling HMRC back on the number listed on GOV.UK.
That last point is the one to hold on to. If the call is real, the matter will still be on HMRC's records when you ring the official helpline. If it isn't, you have lost nothing.
What to do with a suspected HMRC scam
HMRC runs dedicated reporting channels, and using them helps it take down fake websites and numbers:
- Texts: forward them to 60599. Standard network rates may apply on some tariffs.
- Emails: forward them to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk, then delete them.
- Phone calls: report them through the HMRC reporting page on GOV.UK.
- Any scam text: you can also forward it to 7726 so your mobile network can act on it.
If you clicked a link and entered details, change the password for your Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login and anything that shares it. If you gave bank details or paid, call your bank at once using 159 or the number on your card, and report it as fraud to Report Fraud, or to Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.
A quick checklist before you reply to anything "from HMRC"
- Does it mention a refund by text or email? Delete it.
- Does it threaten arrest, court or bailiffs today? Treat it as a scam.
- Does it want payment by gift card, crypto or to a named person? Scam.
- Does it contain a link to "claim" or "verify"? Don't click; sign in to GOV.UK yourself.
- Did the call come from a number you don't recognise? Look it up on Who Rang before calling back.
- Still unsure? Hang up and phone HMRC on the number published on GOV.UK.
Why these scams keep working
What nobody tells you is that the refund texts don't target people who don't understand tax. They target people who half-understand it, which is most of us. If you have had a refund before, a text about one feels familiar rather than strange.
The arrest calls work on a different emotion. Fear of the tax office is real, especially for self-employed people and those who have recently had a letter about a debt. A recorded voice saying "legal proceedings" can make a sensible person press 1 before thinking.
Both are fixed by the same rule: don't act inside the message. Step out of it, go to GOV.UK or the HMRC app yourself and see whether anything is waiting for you.
This also answers the most common worry after deleting a message: "what if it was real?" If HMRC genuinely needs something from you, it will still be on your account or in a letter next week. A real tax matter doesn't vanish because you ignored a text. A scam does.
The number the scammers use varies. A scam call using HMRC's name can come from any kind of number, including ordinary-looking UK landlines, mobiles and 0333 numbers. A non-geographic number doesn't make a call genuine or fake - our page on 0333 numbers explains what the prefix does and doesn't tell you. For the same reason, don't be reassured by a caller ID that looks official; see our guide to caller ID spoofing.
Frequently asked questions
Does HMRC send texts about tax refunds?
No. HMRC says it never notifies people of a tax refund by text or email. Any such message is a scam and can be forwarded to 60599.
Can HMRC have you arrested over the phone?
A call threatening immediate arrest unless you pay now is a classic scam. Hang up and check your position through your GOV.UK account or HMRC's official helpline.
How do I report an HMRC scam call?
Use HMRC's online service on GOV.UK for suspicious phone calls. If you lost money or gave bank details, also contact your bank and report the fraud.
Is a text from HMRC ever genuine?
HMRC does use texts for some services, but it won't ask for personal or payment information by text and never announces refunds that way. If a text wants details or payment, treat it as fake.
The bottom line
You don't need to recognise every HMRC scam, only the habits of the real one: no refunds by text or email, no demands for payment details by text and no arrest threats that disappear once you pay. When a message breaks those rules, forward it to HMRC and delete it. When you're unsure, go to GOV.UK yourself rather than through anything you were sent.