HMRC Scam Warnings: Protect SMEs Before Tax Deadline

January is when a lot of UK SMEs are busiest and most distracted: year-end wrap-ups, cash flow checks, client chasing, payroll, and Self Assessment admin all land at once. Scammers know that. They time HMRC-themed phishing and impersonation attempts to hit when you’re rushing and more likely to click.

Even though the original article we pulled through RSS is blocked by a bot check (a fairly common problem when publishers put anti-scraping protection in place), the headline alone is enough to act on: HMRC scam warnings ahead of the Self Assessment deadline. This comes up every year for a reason—fraud spikes when official-looking messages can blend into real compliance communications.

This post is part of our Governance, Regulation & Public Trust series, and the link is direct: when criminals impersonate public institutions, they don’t just steal money—they erode trust in legitimate digital services. For SMEs, the practical question is simpler: how do you protect your business (and your clients) during tax season without turning into a full-time security team?

What HMRC scams look like in practice (and why January is prime time)

Answer first: HMRC scams usually rely on urgency (“final notice”), authority (“HMRC compliance”), and a quick click to a fake login or “refund” form.

The most common HMRC scam patterns SMEs see

You’ll typically see one of these:

• Fake tax refund messages (email/SMS) asking you to “confirm details” to receive money
• Threatening arrears/fine notices with a 24–48 hour deadline
• “Submit your Self Assessment now” links pointing to a lookalike login page
• Calls from “HMRC” pressuring you to transfer money or share verification codes
• Requests to download attachments (often malware) dressed up as “statements” or “calculations”

The thing that catches people out is not stupidity—it’s workload. January creates the perfect conditions for a rushed click: lots of genuine HMRC-related work, more email traffic, and a natural fear of missing a deadline.

The trust problem: scams don’t just hit individuals

There’s a bigger, governance-related issue here: impersonation attacks reduce confidence in official channels. If clients get burned by a fake “HMRC” email, the next time they receive a legitimate reminder from their accountant or payroll provider, they hesitate. That slows down compliance and increases admin on both sides.

For SMEs, that means scam prevention isn’t “IT hygiene”. It’s part of running a reliable operation.

A practical HMRC scam checklist for SMEs (10 minutes well spent)

Answer first: You reduce risk fastest by tightening payment controls, verifying URLs, and setting staff rules for “HMRC messages” handling.

Here’s a checklist I’d actually use in a small business setting.

1) Verification rules that stop most fraud

• Never click HMRC links from emails or texts. Go to HMRC via a saved bookmark or by typing the URL yourself.
• Never share one-time passcodes over the phone. Any request for this is a red flag.
• Treat unexpected refunds as suspicious until verified through your account.

2) Payment controls that block “panic transfers”

• Put a two-person approval step on bank payments above a threshold (even £500 helps).
• Maintain a known-payee list for tax payments (with account details verified separately).
• Set a policy: no payment changes by email without a call-back to a known number.

3) Inbox hygiene that reduces exposure

• Turn on DMARC/DKIM/SPF on your domain (ask your IT provider—this is standard now).
• Use an email security gateway or Microsoft/Google advanced protections if feasible.
• Train staff to check:
  • Sender domain (not just display name)
  • Odd spelling/formatting
  • Attachments you weren’t expecting

None of this is glamorous. It works.

Where marketing automation helps (without pretending it’s a security tool)

Answer first: Marketing automation won’t “stop” HMRC scams, but it will help SMEs communicate faster, segment correctly, and push consistent warnings when risk is highest.

Most SMEs already use email—often ad hoc, inconsistent, and dependent on someone remembering to send something. During tax season, that’s a weak spot.

Use automation to send timely, consistent client warnings

If you serve clients (accountants, bookkeepers, payroll bureaus, financial advisers, SaaS platforms), you can reduce support tickets and fraud risk by sending a short, clear warning campaign.

A simple 3-email sequence can do the job:

1. Early January: “Tax-season scams are circulating—here’s what we’ll never ask you to do.”
2. Mid January: “Self Assessment prep checklist + how to spot HMRC impersonation.”
3. Final week: “Deadline reminder + safe ways to contact us (and HMRC).”

Keep it factual. No drama. The goal is to build predictability: clients know what legitimate communication from you looks like.

Segmenting matters more than volume

A common mistake is blasting everyone. Better:

• Self Assessment clients get tailored guidance (deadline, safe login behaviour)
• PAYE-only clients get a lighter warning (phishing basics)
• New clients get onboarding content: “How we communicate; what we’ll never request”

Marketing automation is good at this because segmentation and scheduling are the default.

Internal alerts: use your tools like an operations system

Marketing automation platforms can also help with internal visibility when integrated sensibly:

• Trigger a Slack/Teams alert when someone replies with keywords like “HMRC”, “refund”, “urgent”, “text message”, “bank transfer”.
• Route those messages to a “risk triage” inbox so they don’t sit with a junior team member.
• Auto-apply a tag like potential-phishing-report for tracking.

This is not cybersecurity. It’s workflow design—and it’s how small teams cope under pressure.

Snippet-worthy stance: Security failures in SMEs usually start as workflow failures—unclear ownership, unclear process, and time pressure.

A “trust-first” communication policy that strengthens public confidence

Answer first: If you want clients to trust official systems, you have to make your own communications boringly consistent.

This is the Governance, Regulation & Public Trust angle in plain terms: people learn trust through repeated, predictable interactions.

What a good SME policy looks like

Publish and repeat a short policy across email footers, onboarding packs, and your client portal:

• We will never ask for passwords or one-time codes.
• We will never request bank detail changes by email.
• We will only ask you to upload documents via one approved channel.
• If you’re unsure, call us on one published number.

Then automate reminders during high-risk periods.

Why this reduces your support burden

When scams spike, your team gets flooded with:

• “Is this email real?”
• “HMRC texted me, what do I do?”
• “I clicked something—help.”

Proactive automated communications reduce inbound noise because clients can self-verify against your published rules.

What to do if you (or a client) clicked a suspicious HMRC message

Answer first: Act quickly: isolate, reset access, check bank activity, and document what happened.

Here’s a sane first-response checklist for SMEs:

1. Stop the interaction (don’t continue filling forms or replying).
2. If a device might be compromised, disconnect from Wi‑Fi and notify your IT support.
3. Change passwords for email and any affected accounts (from a clean device). Turn on MFA if it wasn’t already.
4. Check:
   • Email forwarding rules (scammers often add these)
   • Recent logins (unusual locations/devices)
   • Bank transactions and payee changes
5. Warn relevant people internally (so nobody repeats the mistake).
6. If client data may be involved, treat it as a potential incident: record timeline, affected accounts, and actions taken.

If you’re a service provider, build a short form in your site/portal: “Report a suspicious message.” Then use automation to triage it.

A simple January playbook SMEs can run every year

Answer first: Make January repeatable: schedule warnings, refresh your policy, and tighten approvals for two weeks.

Here’s a practical routine you can copy:

• First business week of January

  • Send client scam warning (automated)
  • Remind staff of “no link clicking” policy for HMRC messages
  • Confirm bank approval thresholds

• Mid-January

  • Send deadline prep email + scam examples
  • Review your “known payee” list

• Final week before the Self Assessment deadline

  • Send safe deadline reminder
  • Increase monitoring of inbox keywords (“urgent”, “fine”, “refund”)

Consistency builds trust. That’s the real win.

Where this fits in Governance, Regulation & Public Trust

HMRC moving services online is good governance when it’s reliable and accessible. Scams that imitate HMRC are the counterforce: they make people suspicious of legitimate digital communications and push them back to slower, more expensive channels.

For SMEs, the practical response is to become a “trust amplifier” for your customers and your team. Use process, not panic. Use automation to keep communications consistent during high-risk periods.

If you want to reduce the chaos next January, start building your repeatable playbook now—because the scammers already have theirs.