Submitting your self-assessment tax return? Beware copycat websites and fraudsters posing as HMRC

Taxreturngateway.com, exposed in January 2013, was successful in fleecing over 13,000 unwary consumers because it would appear at the top of the searches when people typed in keywords such as “tax return”, “hmrc” and “self-assessment”. In fact, it looked very similar to the HMRC website. The rogue website, owned by a little known Sunderland company called Who4, generated revenues of £7million in just four months by charging customers up to £1,000 for processing their 2012/13 tax returns. Here’s an example from last year of a legitimate boxed advert showing taxreturngateway.com above Google’s organic search results. If you feel you are being misled by any Google ad you can report your concerns to Google here. According to a mole at Who4, “Over Christmas and into the New Year, usage of the site exploded as people filed their returns before the January 31 deadline. The income generated by the site also exploded. The directors used to play quite loudly “We’re In The Money” in the large office they shared. That should give you an idea of how they felt about the service they were providing although it must be said that they were always careful when addressing their staff to discuss the business in a positive light and talk about it as a value added service.” It was only in April, 2014 that the imposter website was forced to shut down and in June 2014 the directors of the company arrested, only to be released on bail without any charges.