North Yorkshire Police have received a number of reports from residents who have received a telephone call from someone claiming to be from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The victim is told there is an outstanding tax bill against their name which must be paid immediately otherwise the police will be informed and they will be arrested. Often they will claim to have been to court and have instructed bailiffs to attend the victim’s home to settle the debt. The victim is instructed to pay the bill often using i-tunes vouchers which can be bought from most supermarkets, newsagents. The victim is told that if they are challenged as to why they are buying the vouchers, to say they are for birthday presents etc.
This is an old scam and one which has been circulated before but we still see residents losing large amounts of money. If any ‘official organisation’ asks for payment by i-tunes voucher, steam vouchers, Google play vouchers, IT IS A SCAM!!