Tax Credit Renewal Scam

Many means-tested tax credit programs require claimants to renew their claim annually by a fixed deadline, and missing that deadline can genuinely result in a payment being stopped, which makes the threat behind this scam feel entirely credible. Scammers send a text or email timed close to the real renewal deadline, warning that the recipient's tax credit will be stopped unless they click a link and 'renew' their details immediately, creating urgency that discourages the recipient from pausing to verify the message.

The link leads to a phishing page requesting income details, household composition, and bank account information, all of which is used either to commit identity fraud or to redirect the real payment to an account controlled by the scammer. Genuine tax credit renewals are completed through the tax authority's official website or by post using the claimant's specific reference number from an official renewal pack, never through a link embedded in an unsolicited text message.