The busy tax return season is a popular period for fraudsters to try and gain sensitive information for taxpayers.

HM Revenue & Customs is warning people to be wary of falling victim to scams, including sharing logins to their portals, which could be used to make fraudulent claims using your information.

The threat is very real, and the scammers have become more sophisticated. HMRC is a favourite of many criminals, with data from The National Cyber Security Centre revealing that the tax authority is the most often impersonated public sector organisation.

Incredibly, a total of 55,386 suspected phone scams were reported to HMRC last year, and 10,565 “malicious websites” purporting to be from HMRC were identified.

If you receive suspicious communications from HMRC, the tax authority recommends that you follow their advice here.

You should also not pay someone directly if they claim they are from HMRC. Even if they threaten you with fines or court action.

Many scammers are likely to dupe legitimate email addresses, create phoney websites and use numbers that appear to be linked to HMRC.

If you are ever unsure of any communications you receive from HMRC, especially at this important time of year, please speak to our team.