HMRC warns Self Assessment taxpayers about scam surge
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HMRC warned UK taxpayers finalizing Self Assessment filings about a surge in impersonation scams ahead of the January 31, 2026 deadline, increasing the risk of payment fraud and credential theft. The tax office said it had already received more than 135,500 reports since February 2025, including 4,800 tied to Self Assessment. It also said it had shut down 25,000 phishing websites and phone numbers linked to the scams.
Related Happenings
Tycoon 2FA-Storm-1747 ecosystem shift changes threat-actor operations
Threat Actor Meta
First: 05.03.2026 08:51
Last: 05.03.2026 08:51
Sources 1
About this happening:
**Tycoon2FA** has evolved from a **subscription-based PhaaS** into a more resilient phishing service that now supports **device-code phishing** against **Microsoft 365** accounts....
Tycoon 2FA-Storm-1747 ecosystem shift changes threat-actor operations
Threat Actor MetaAbout this happening: **Tycoon2FA** has evolved from a **subscription-based PhaaS** into a more resilient phishing service that now supports **device-code phishing** against **Microsoft 365** accounts....
Latest development: 17.05.2026 17:43
eSentire says Tycoon2FA now uses device-code phishing to target Microsoft 365 accounts, with invoice-themed lure emails carrying Trustifi click-tracking URLs that redirect through Trustifi, Cloudflare Workers, obfuscated JavaScript layers, and a fake Microsoft CAPTCHA page before sending victims to microsoft.com/devicelogin. The kit also adds anti-analysis defenses, including detection of Selenium, Puppeteer, Playwright, and Burp Suite, plus blocks for security vendors, VPNs, sandboxes, AI crawlers, and cloud providers.
Timeline
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18.12.2025 11:30 2 articles · 5mo ago
HMRC warns Self Assessment taxpayers about scam surge
Initial DisclosureHMRC warned UK taxpayers finalizing Self Assessment filings that scammers are impersonating the tax office via phone, email and text ahead of the January 31 2026 deadline. HMRC said it had already received more than 135,500 scam reports since February 2025, including 4,800 related to Self Assessment, and said fraudsters use pressure tactics, fake refunds, spoofed communications and unusual payment requests to steal personal and financial information or install malware. HMRC also said it had shuttered 25,000 phishing websites and phone numbers linked to the scams and urged taxpayers to stay vigilant and report suspicious messages directly to HMRC.
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- HMRC Warns of Over 135,000 Scam Reports — www.infosecurity-magazine.com — 18.12.2025 11:30
- HMRC Warns of Over 135,000 Scam Reports — www.infosecurity-magazine.com — 18.12.2025 11:30