Phishers Exploit UK Taxpayers
Cyber criminals have launched phishing attacks in an attempt to make a buck from the news that up to six million people in the United Kingdom have overpaid or underpaid their taxes for the past two years.
It was recently uncovered that taxation blunders have lead to 1.4 million UK taxpayers paying less money in taxes and 4.3 million paying in excess.
In consequence, UK’s taxation authority will begin sending letters to inform affected individuals that they have to pay or receive money. The first notifications are expected to reach some 45,000 workers initially, and 30,000 of them will learn that they are entitled to refunds.
Security researchers from anti-virus vendor Sunbelt Software warn that phishers have already started targeting taxpayers via bogus emails.
The bogus notifications have the From address spoofed to appear as if they originate from service@hmrc.gov.uk. The message urges the recipient to complete an online application in order to receive a tax refund, and it also asks for personal and financial information.
The URL included in the fake emails redirects users to a web form on a rogue page bearing HMRC visual identification elements.
“Additionally, it seems we can expect the usual deluge of spam mail with infectious attachments so be careful what you’re opening – the UK tax office DOES NOT send out random emails asking for personal information such as the above,” said Christopher Boyd, a Sunbelt security researcher.
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