A warning has been issued as fraudsters target victims in Suffolk with an HMRC scam.

Fraudsters are targeting people with offers of tax refunds or demanding payment of tax to get hold of personal information and banking details. 

In some cases victims receive an email form a .gov.uk address stating their tax rebate has been approved and they can claim it by clicking the link in the message.

It comes as millions of people across the country are due to complete Self Assessment tax returns and pay any owed tax by January, 31 2025. 

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Data shared by Suffolk Trading Standards showed there was an increase in scam referrals to HMRC between November 2023 and October 2024. 

Nearly 145,000 referrals were received compared to around 123,500 reports in the previous 12-month period. 

Just over 71,000 of the scam reports were for fake tax rebate claims.

A spokesman for the authority said: "HMRC will never leave voicemails threatening legal action or arrest, or ask any personal or financial information over text message - only fraudsters and criminals will do that."

Anyone who receives a message claiming to be from HMRC can check advice on the gov.uk website to help identify if it is a scam.