TIM DREW: Warning over scams involving tax and wine

Action Fraud has recently issued warnings over two new scams involving tax rebates and wine investments.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Apr 2016, 08:00 BST

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

Tim DrewTim Drew
Tim Drew

The first of these involves members of the public being texted by fraudsters purporting to be from HMRC and offering a tax rebate.

The text message contains a link to a website and requests to provide personal information, including bank account information, in order to claim the rebate.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

HMRC will never use texts or emails, or tell you about a potential rebate, or request personal information.

The wine investment scam involves fraudsters targeting members of the public seeking to sell their wine investment.

They cold-call them and offer to purchase their wine for significantly more than the actual market value.

Fraudulent documents, such as purchase agreements, are used to facilitate the fraud and are sent to the victims via post and email.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The fraudsters send the targets instructions to transfer their wine into storage accounts held within legitimate bonded warehouses.

The targets are informed that, upon doing this, they will be paid the agreed amount.

The use of storage accounts held within legitimate bonded warehouses adds a semblance of legitimacy to the process but, in reality, these storage accounts are controlled by the fraudsters.

Once the wine is transferred into the new storage accounts the suspects break off all contact with the victims.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The wine is then moved again, normally within days and often abroad, and, needless to say, the victim never receives the money from the agreed sale.

The first of this year’s Neighbourhood Watch and Crime Prevention Awareness Events is taking place in South Street today (April 30) between 10am and 4pm. We hope to be able to provide cycle marking services,so please bring evidence of ID if you wish to make use of these.

---

Don’t miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

1) Make our website your homepage at www.worthingherald.co.uk/

2) Like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Worthing.news

3) Follow us on Twitter @Worthing_Herald

4) Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

The Worthing Herald - always the first with your local news.

Related topics:HMRCFacebookTwitter