{"id":4518,"date":"2022-01-25T10:52:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T10:52:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/?p=4518"},"modified":"2022-01-25T10:52:22","modified_gmt":"2022-01-25T10:52:22","slug":"hmrc-scam-calls-have-decreased-by-97-per-cent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/hmrc-scam-calls-have-decreased-by-97-per-cent\/","title":{"rendered":"HMRC scam calls have decreased by 97 per cent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scammers posing as HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) were rife in March 2021, with a staggering 79,477 calls reported.<\/p>\n

However, as of December 2021, reported scam calls were down by 97 per cent to 2,491.<\/p>\n

As well as calls, phishing emails saw a huge decline of 92 per cent throughout the year and fraudulent texts were also down 97 per cent.<\/p>\n

These scam calls, texts and emails from fraudsters claiming to be from HMRC, aim to extract personal information to steal money from victims by instructing people to make a payment or click on unknown links.<\/p>\n

What has contributed to this decline in scams? <\/strong><\/p>\n

HMRC regularly releases guidance on how to spot fraudulent content to raise awareness and increase customer protection.<\/p>\n

In the past year, HMRC responded to over 670,000 reports of suspicious content.<\/p>\n

Mike Fell, HMRC\u2019s Head of Cyber Security Operations, commented on the decline:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe work incredibly hard to protect the public from these criminals who ruin lives by stealing from people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great news that fewer people are receiving and reporting these attempted frauds, but it is still important they continue to report suspicious contact to us.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to do everything we can to protect the public from these cynical attempts to impersonate HMRC to steal from people.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you receive a suspicious call, text, or email you can take the following precautions:<\/p>\n