Police issue warning over HMRC and PayPal scams

The force is keen to raise awareness of the online fraud picked up by Action Fraud, the national fraud and cyber crime organisation.

It says it has received hundreds of reports nationally from the public who have been sent fake emails from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and PayPal.

Emails that claim to be from HMRC often promise money back and direct potential victims to a fake replica of HMRC website. They are then asked to provide credit or debit card details or other sensitive information such as passwords. PayPal customers are warned about emails which list activities the account holder can and cannot do until they update their account before being directed to a webpage designed to steal personal information.