I've just had an email supposedly from HMRC telling me I was due a refund (not expected and surely my accountant would have been their port of call) I don't open unexpected attachments but I'll just bet there would be a request for my bank details in there. Any other self employed members had one of these (yet)?
I (not self-employed) had one this morning to this mailbox that I wouldn't have given to HMRC, which immediately arose my suspicions. Google on "tax refund scam" (without the quotes) finds, for example:
Chris
Erm! when its abbreviated HM then I would expect them to contact me via snail mail not email.
tsk! some people.
In message , cynic writes
Had all sorts of very plausible email over the past month or three, including stuff purporting to be from HMRC. Definitely phishing.
I am permie employed and got one.
Paul.
Whether you're self employed or not is irrelevant, this sort of spam is never targeted, the spammers just spew the stuff out to all the addresses they've harvested. They neither know nor care anything about the recipients.
I always use spamtrap addresses on Usenet, sometimes different ones for each group.
The spam definitely comes in bursts, and it's always obvious when it's been harvested.
I have a .co.uk domain which allows me to make up any address at that domain on the spot - the mail from any of those addresses gets forwarded to a specific mailbox so I know to be wary.
Certain addresses are allowed straight through, but you'll never see one of those on the web.
It's very cheap to set up - a couple of pounds a year and if I change ISP I just have to change where it's redirected to, nobody else needs to know.
Alternatively most ISPs offer several email addresses on the same account, so you can set one of those up as a spamtrap to use on Usenet.
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