As 10 million people prepare to complete their tax returns online by the end of January, many are already being targeted with scams, according to research from digital authentication provider MIRACL. The company polled 1,000 Brits and found that 40 per cent have received phishing emails which claim to be from HMRC; a fifth of those surveyed, or their close friends or family, have been the victim of data theft or identity fraud. But despite this, there is still a lack of awareness among consumers. Of those who have filled in a tax return online, 48 per cent were not at all worried about the potential risks of losing their personal and financial information. In addition, when asked which online activity made them most nervous about their personal and financial information being stolen, the majority were most worried about shopping (51 per cent), with just over a third most concerned about banking (36 per cent), and only 14 per cent about using online government services, such as applying for a driving licence or filling in a tax return.

Brian Spector, CEO at MIRACL, comments: “Consumers are surprisingly laid back about the potential risks of filling in their tax returns online. It’s true that you could lose money if your financial details were stolen while online shopping, but the volume of data involved in filling out a tax return online makes this a far greater risk. With all the financial data involved in a tax return, a criminal could potentially take out a mortgage in your name. Data theft and identity fraud is a multi-billion dollar business on the dark web, and so consumers must be vigilant.”

Over two-thirds of those surveyed said that they create stronger passwords in order to keep their personal and financial data safe online, such as using a combination of letters and numbers, or substituting numbers for letters. High profile data breaches such as the TalkTalk hack have made 61 per cent feel more nervous about providing their personal and financial information online, and as a result, 51 per cent think it is only a matter of time before they are affected. Three-quarters would feel better about providing their personal and financial details online if the website had stronger security procedures, such as multi-factor authentication.

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