HM Revenue & Customs email phishing scam (2011)

This old (seen in 2008) email is doing the rounds again.

The link on the email is false and is used to collect personal details such as National Insurance numbers from unsuspecting recipients.  The full text of the email is below.  We recommend that you ignore the email if you receive it.  Do not click on the links in scam emails as this is used to confirm that your email account is valid.

If you receive an email that you believe is fake it is often worth typing the Subject or some of the text into Google and see if web sites are reporting the email as fake.

Scam email text:

Starts: “

  Dear Applicant:

Please note that you must apply now for tax refund, today we have sent your Tax File Number (TFN): 7 3 1 9 4 8 1 1 5
(See the tax privacy note in the Taxpayer's declaration on page 8 of your tax refund) and is valid only 24 hours for security reasons.
Please take a few minutes of your time to complete the form, for your safety please do not reveal your TFN number to others.
In order to take your refund amount, please follow this link:

For further Tax advice please see the Tax Guides and Personal Guides dedicated areas of our website.