National Insurance refund scam

Scammers are attempting to steal personal details by sending out fake emails offering a National Insurance refund.

The fake emails are merely the latest in a depressingly long line of new scams hooked on the Covid-19 pandemic and targeted at cash-strapped households.

The latest tactic employed by scammers is a very convincing-looking email purporting to be from the taxman, and promising the refund of National Insurance contribution, according to new warnings from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).

Fake NI refund: how the scam works

The CTSI said the fake emails (see example below) are designed to look like they are from the Government, replicating the font and design of sections of the Gov.uk website.

The email tells the potential victim that the Government has taken steps to list Coronavirus as a “notifiable disease” in law, and that working alongside HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) a new tax refund plan has been established to help support people’s finances during the recovery.

As a result, and based on the recipient’s record of National Insurance contributions, they are ‘entitled’ to a refund. In the example email below the amount is £128.34, but it could easily another value.

All the person has to do in order to claim the cash is click on a link in the email, which takes them through to a page where they can supply their banking details for the refund to be provided.

Of course, supplying those details won’t see extra money end up in your account ‒ the opposite in fact, as they can then be used by the fraudsters to steal your identity and take out further credit products in your name.

Information source: Love Money