Tax refund email bank reminder

In the last couple of weeks I have received a large number of phishing emails into both my work and personal email in-boxes. Several purporting to be from various banks and one claiming to be from HM Revenues and Customs in relation to a tax refund.

Information has been sent out about various types of these emails in the past. However, in view of the fact that there seems to be a number of these floating around at present I thought it worthwhile to send out a general reminder email for members and circulation. Some of these emails are very basic and extremely unbelievable in their make up but others can appear to be very realistic (in terms of design and web address sent from) and someone could fall foul of one of these if caught at the right moment. As home watch members I am sure that you are very security conscious about such emails but please try and share this message with friends and family, particularly if some are less familiar with the internet or are vulnerable.

Please remind contacts that they should never respond to any email that tries to get them to provide any personal or financial details via an email or by clicking a link to another page. Various threats (your account will be shut down/suspended) and sweeteners (you are due a tax refund) will be offered to try and encourage people to provide their details in whatever way possible. Genuine financial organisations will never try and obtain your details in this manner. They will never ask for your password. If you receive an email of this nature you can be confident that it is a hoax.

Sometimes, people are concerned that an email may be genuine - if it is one of the more well designed ones. If in any doubt or you have concerns find a contact yourself for the Customer Services Department of the organisation in question (never open a link or follow what is already provided) and contact them directly to discuss the matter in person.

Many organisations have a facility on their websites to report suspicious or hoax emails. As such if anyone receives such emails they always appreciate them being reported directly via this facility so that they can investigate the origins wherever possible.