The latest HMRC figures reveal that there was a large increase in the number of text and phone scams that it received reports of during December and January.

The volume of reports concerning scammers targeting people with fake HMRC phone calls increased by more than triple over those two months. The number for December was 10,997, while by the end of January, it had hit 33,053, with the fact that more people are working at home due to the national lockdown being cited as a major contributory factor.

The HMRC figures also show a similar increase in the volume of reports there were about dubious emails and texts claiming to be from the tax authority across that period. For December last year, there were a total of 11,192 reports of that kind, compared with 26,643 for January.

Another factor that may be influencing the rise is the fact that January is the month when most people file their tax returns, with many of the fake calls, texts and emails telling people that they are due a tax rebate. Hiring an accountant who offers tax return services in Doncaster or anywhere else is one way that taxpayers can reduce the risk from these sorts of scams.

Other scam calls and texts have claimed that National Insurance numbers belonging to recipients are being fraudulently used, and they have asked them to submit bank or other personal details to resolve the issue. An HMRC spokesperson urged people to look at the list of scams on the GOV.UK site before responding to any such correspondence.