UK taxman HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has carried out searches at five addresses in east and west London as part of its investigation into a suspected multi-million-pound phone scam targeting UK taxpayers.
On 28 July, £10,000 ($12,976, €11,061) in cash was seized along with a number of laptop and desktop computers, mobile phones and Sim cards.
HMRC questioned and arrested two men and two women on suspicion of money laundering offences.
Investigations are ongoing.
The details about the alleged scam were not given.
Range of techniques
Richard Mayer, assistant director of fraud investigation service at HMRC, said: “Criminals use a range of techniques in tax-related phone scams, including calling unsuspecting taxpayers to offer a bogus tax refund, or threatening them with arrest if they don’t immediately pay fictitious tax bills.
“These scams often target the elderly and vulnerable. We are a well-known brand, which criminals abuse to try and add credibility to their scams.”
In the last 12 months, HMRC reported 1,742 phone numbers being used in tax-related phone scams to telecommunication companies for takedown, and responded to more than 203,000 reports of phone scams from the public, which is an increase of 95% on the previous year.
