Armed police conducted raids related to UK tax scam in Romania

The Romanian police have targeted a gang on suspicion of being behind a complex scam in which the theft data was used to claim lakhs in paying taxes from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), police said.

Thirteen people were detained during an armed raid around Bukharest, and luxury cars and cash piles were seized. A fourteenth person was arrested in Preston.

According to HMRC, scammers gained access to the personal data of British taxpayers through a refined fishing operation, using to make fake claims for refunds.

HMRC stated that “millions” was stolen without specifying an amount, while the Romanian police said that more than £ 1M was taken.

A joint operation between HMRC and Romanian police saw male and female suspects, who were between 23 and 53, who were arrested during an armed raid.

He was placed on suspicion of computer fraud, money laundering and illegal access to computer systems.

A 38 -year -old man was arrested in Preston on Thursday. His electronic devices were confiscated and questioned by HMRC officials.

In the footage published on Thursday by the Romanian officials, the armed police officers were seen searching for a large assets, where jewelery and large quantity of cash were found.

A joint investigation team – made of Romanian prosecutors, HMRC and Crown Prosecution Services – was established earlier this year.

The HMRC stated that the organized gang used stolen data to present fraud claims for Paye, Child Benefit and VAT refund.

It is not clear how many people had stolen their information, but HMRC said that it had approached the “about 100,000” customers to inform them that they had discovered efforts to reach their accounts.

The Romanian police said the scammers accessed the government gateway accounts of more than 1000 UK taxpayers, and then looted the stolen funds.

Scammers cheated people to disclose their safety information using various methods, and HMRC stressed that its systems were not subject to cyber attacks.

Fishing scams involved in HMRC common: In 2022, the National Cyber ​​Security Center found that it was the government body that is most likely to be engaged by criminals trying to get information by criminals.