Category Archives: News

Action Fraud (the UK's national fraud reporting service) has experienced an increase in the reporting of malicious calls, voicemails, text messages or emails to members of the public purporting to be from HMRC. The fraudsters state that as a result of their non-payment of tax or other duty, the victim is liable to prosecution or other legal proceedings such as repossession of belongings to settle the balance but can avoid this by arranging for payment to be made immediately by method such as bank transfer or by iTunes gift cards. If the victim is hesitant or refuses to comply, the suspect makes a threat such as immediate arrest, bailiffs or in cases where the victim appears to be of overseas origin; deportation. Often, the period for which the tax is allegedly due is distant enough to guarantee...

Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre is warning the public to #StayTunedToFraud as fraudsters are contacting victims, claiming to be from well-known organisations including Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Fraudsters are then tricking victims into making payments using iTunes gift cards. Fraudsters are using online store gift cards to collect money from victims because they can be easily redeemed and sold on. The fraudsters don’t need the physical card to redeem the value and will instead use tactics to persuade victims to purchase gift cards in large amounts and read out the serial code on the back over the phone.

How to protect yourself from gift card fraudsters:

• Gift cards, including App Store and iTunes gift cards can only be used to purchase goods and services from the retailer named on the card....