The UK's HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reported a significant loss of £47 million caused by an organized crime breach that established fake PAYE accounts to claim refunds. The scam, which impacted approximately 100,000 individuals, involved criminal entities phishing for identity data and subsequently creating fraudulent tax accounts. Notably, no direct financial loss will be faced by individuals. As the investigation unfolded, officials expressed concerns about the delayed public disclosure of the incident, urging for transparency with parliament.
HMRC told the treasury select committee that the account scam was the result of "organized crime" that set up PAYE accounts for individual taxpayers and used them to claim refunds.
This was an attempt to claim money from HMRC, not an attempt to take any money from you," it said on the HMRC website.
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