Phone scams on the increase

Cheshire Police are reporting an increase in the number of hoax calls from scammers claiming to be police officers from Cheshire Constabulary acting on behalf of HMRC.

The first part of the automated call and asks the victim to press 1 to be connected to HMRC. A recorded message then then informs the victim that they have an unpaid tax bill and an arrest warrant will be enforced unless they pay the balance immediately.

The fraudsters then ask the victims to make a bank transfer to pay off their supposed outstanding tax bill.

Scammers are able to use technology which shows the calls come from legitimate numbers. In a recent case the numbers called from were traced back to a Cheshire police station and HMRC.

Detective Sergeant Chris Jacques of the Economic Crime Unit said: “It is important to remember that police officers and HRMC will never call you and ask you to settle the balance of a tax bill over the phone. Telephone numbers can easily be spoofed and you should never trust the number you see on your telephone display.

“If you receive a suspicious call, do not give any information over the phone and end the call immediately. I would advise anyone who believes that they may have been a victim to this scam to please report it to us on 101 or via https://www.cheshire.police.uk/ro/report/.”

Anyone who believes they have been contacted fraudulently or have been a victim of fraud should call Cheshire Police on 101 and Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.