MHRC have "lost" your private personal and financial details, they are "likely" to be on Government property ..er...somewhere ... we ..er..think

Lord Patel Public Service Announcement No 1 (Many more to follow)

If you have a child and receive Child benefits you will shortly be receiving a letter from a man called Mr Hartnett (No rank, number, regiment etc., given - see pic) - it is also available at the HMRC website. It starts ....

Child Benefit customer update

"I am writing to make a personal apology. A copy of some HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) data about families, including yours, who have received Child Benefit has been lost. The copy of the data is likely to still be on Government property. The police are now conducting a search, and there is no evidence that it is in the possession of anyone else. This will not affect your Child Benefit payments.

This data includes your and your children’s names and dates of birth, your address, your National Insurance number and, where relevant, the details of the bank or building society account into which your Child Benefit is or was paid.

If you are paid through a bank or building society, they are aware of this matter. They are acting on this information, and assure us that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect you....etc., "

...we won't trouble you with the rest but would direct you to -

Existing fraud attempts

We want to make sure you can recognise a fraudulent email if you receive one. We have produced the list below of recent fraudulent emails that have been brought to our attention and will update regularly with news of new phishing activity.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm

Evidently there is widespread evidence that the HMRC clients are subject (and have been for a very long time) to heavy and continuous "phishing" which is often done by hanging the fraudulent request by e-mail for financial details of the recipient VIZ .the HMRC helpfully details as a handy DIY guide for wannabe "phishers" ....

Current phishing scams

The following phishing activity is the most frequently reported fraud attempt to HMRC at the present time.

Tax Rebate - Updated 19 September 2007

e-mails based on the pretext that a payment of tax will be paid directly into their bank account.
Previous forms, have shown a potential tax rebate using the email addresses of:

admin@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
info@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
no-reply@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) does not send out emails using these email addresses.
An example of the tax rebate scam.
Example 2 (added 14 August 2007).
Example 3 (added 14 August 2007).

Tax payments on lottery winnings (Stop Order Fraud) - Updated 19 September 2007

A number of frauds state that a parcel containing a cheque in respect of lottery winnings has been impounded by HMRC. It will only be released when a substantial tax sum is paid, which will form a percentage of the winnings. This is a fraud.
An example of the Stop Order fraud.

Fake TFT Tax Payment Form - 19 July 2007
A fake TFT Tax Payment Form (PDF 146K) (also available in text only version (TXT 2K) is being sent requesting a cheque for an underpayment of tax. This form does not exist within HM Revenue & Customs, and no monies should be sent.

Previous phishing scams

The following are phishing attempts that you need to be aware of. Each of these has been reported to HMRC previously.
Anti-Terrorist Certificate - This is a scam involving postal items supposedly being stopped by Customs that require the purchase of an Anti-Terrorist Certificate before being released. There is no such certificate in existence within HM Revenue & Customs.
Child Benefit and Income Support - Unsolicited emails are being issued advising the recipient may be entitled to Child Benefit. A non-Departmental email address and mobile numbers are being used as the contact points for this scam. An example of the Child Benefit and Income Support scam.
Compensation - This scam is aimed at people who supposedly have already been the subject of a fraud attempt. The email requests personal details on the pretext that compensation will be paid. An example of the compensation scam.
Export Clearance Process (Delivery Stop Order) - A number of frauds state that a parcel containing a cheque in respect of lottery winnings, or a legacy left in a will, has been held up by Customs at an airport or dock and requires payment of a percentage of the winnings. This will be a fraud. An example of the Export Clearance Process (Delivery Stop Order).
Fake P86 form - Letters are being sent with fake P86 Forms, which ask for personal information from taxpayers employed outside the UK. These Forms are fake and should not be completed. Further details can be found at Fraud attempt – Fake P86 Form.
Telephone Variations - A new variant of scam Export Clearance Process (Delivery Stop Order) is that the individual may be contacted by telephone rather than email. We have seen examples where customers are contacted by someone purporting to be from HM Customs & Excise, claiming that for a payment of £400 by wire transfer, they would release goods to them worth £250,000. Please note: HMRC does not contact customers in this way. One telephone number used in this fraud is 0207 099 2114.

Anyway HMRC have now decided to save the fraudsters a lot of trouble and have issued everybody's details on a handy couple of CD's. Keep an eye on e Bay to secure your personal copy.

How else are they going to cut jobs ?

PS : we have tracked down Dave Hartnett CB (BTW Mr Paul Gray still apppears as Chairman on the HMRC (website): Dave's ExCom portfolio includes Businesses Customer Unit, Large Business Service, Corporation Tax and VAT, Anti-avoidance and Central Policy.

Dave joined the Inland Revenue in 1976. He worked for nearly 10 years on investigation work before becoming Director of Claims Branch in 1991. In 1994 he was appointed Director of the Financial Intermediaries and Claims Office moving in 1996 to lead the technical team on personal taxation. In 1998 he was appointed Director of Capital and Savings, with tax policy responsibility for capital taxes, savings, pensions, share schemes, charity tax issues and stamp duty. He led the 2000 quinquennial review of the Valuation Office Agency before his current appointment in 2000.

Unsurprisingly when you look at his pic you find he studied Latin at Birmingham University, graduating in 1973. After research in Roman social history he became a graduate tax inspector spending the first ten years of his career in Birmingham.

He is married and has three children. He was awarded a CB in the 2003.

Steve Lamey BTW is Chief Operating Officer which includes Continuous Improvement and Departmental Transformation Programme. (whatever the fuck that means)

He became Chief Information Officer (CIO) for both former Departments in October 2004. In October 2007, he was appointed to a new role, Chief Operating Officer, to oversee and co-ordinate all performance including development of future performance measures.

He sounds like the guy in the VERY hot seat. In which he is joined by ..

Deepak Singh whose ExCom portfolio includes Information Management Solutions and Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence.

Deepak took on the role of Chief Information Officer (CIO) of HMRC, from Steve Lamey who has been appointed to new post of Chief Operating Officer for HMRC.

Deepak joined HMRC in June 2006 from T-Mobile where he was an Executive Vice President responsible for IT Strategy, Governance, Quality Management and Change Management.
Having graduated from York University in 1985, Deepak has spent over 20 years in the commercial sector and brings with him extensive experience of leading large scale IT activities. He has worked for a number of private sector organisations including: nPower, AstraZeneca, Jaguar Cars and Philips Electronics.

Stuart Cruickshank Chief Finance Officer for HMRC. His ExCom portfolio includes Debt Management & Banking, Finance, Internal Audit and Commercial Directorate