Fake UK VAT information update
Below is hte actual text of a fraudulent approach which uses the UK's HM Revenue and Customs Value Added Tax office to obtain your personal and business information.
From: HMRC (actually, the from e-mail address in the example we have is info@kyonagomi.co.jp which is likely to be spoofed and the company that owns that domain probably has nothing to do with it.
Subject: IMPORTANT - Update your VAT business
The body, when opened as text only (which is what everyone should always do) shows that in the HTML "pretty version" there is a logo which is linked to Amazon Web Services - we see this a lot. AWS is host to many, many fraudulent landing pages.
https://g718q86i.r.eu-west-2.awstrack. me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2F/1/010b0195c6d9f9c6-95903814-f15f-44d0-8359-3fed41f2de2d-0…;
Sophos, one of the world's longest established internet threat finders immediately identifies this as a phishing threat.
The message says
HM Revenue & Customs
You have New message about your VAT business detailsThe message is about your online business VAT information is not up to date.
Please follow the reference below to update your information now, otherwise your
VAT profile will be automatically deleted from HMRC database.
* Sign in to your Business Tax Account to update your VAT details.
For security reasons please follow the steps below to update your online profile
now.Confirm <https://*1000okrs*.com/sptfy/> * is to disable the link about which the spam says
For security reasons we cannot include any links on this page.
Why you got this email
You gave this contact email address when you signed up for Anti-Money Laundering Supervision.
[we didn't! In fact, our COUNTER-money laundering business predates HMRC's involvement in this field!]
This means we send you an email to let you know you have a new message in your account.
From HMRC Anti-Money Laundering Supervision
If you’re unsure an email is from HMRC:
* Do not reply to it or click on any links
* Report the suspicious email to HMRC - to find out how, go to GOV.UK and
search for 'Avoid and report internet scams and phishing'


