Thames Valley: Whitley Stimpson foils cyber-fraud with new slant

Owen Kyffin, a tax expert and director of Whitley Stimpson, one of the largest independent accountancy practices in the area, recently foiled a new variety of cyber-fraud attempt against one of his clients. The client had a message on his answering machine saying HMRC was trying to reach him to tell him it was filing a law suit against him and urging him to speak to his case officer by returning the call. HMRC confirmed that the call was a scam. 

Kyffin said: “Unfortunately this sort of thing is becoming more common. Cyber thieves are using false phone messages and emails to con business people. The Revenue and Customs service does sometimes phone its clients but they never ask for personal details. There are several helpful websites which give advice on fraud of all kinds and cyber-fraud in particular but I would suggest that if business people are still in doubt they can always ring their accountant.”

HMRC has released guidance on genuine correspondence from it and how to spot attempts at fraud on its website. Further guidance is available on www.actionfraud.police.uk or www.getsafeonline.org and www.cyberstreetwise.com/cyberessentials