HMRC has updated its guidance on genuine contact vs phishing scams to include a new section entitled ‘compliance interventions for midsized businesses, charities or public bodies’.

This contains confirmation that charities and other bodies may be genuinely contacted by HMRC via telephone regarding compliance checks.

The updated guidance also details measures that bodies can take to confirm that the call is genuine; such as asking the caller to send an email confirming their identity and corroborating their address with the prescribed format. Their email address should have their name and end in @hmrc.gsi.gov.uk.

You can also call the relevant general enquiry helpline to check requests for:

• VAT for businesses
• tax for employers
• Corporation Tax for limited companies

When you call, you’ll need to have one of the following:

• VAT registration number
• employer reference
• 10 digit Unique Tax Reference

Please note, when contacting to arrange telephone interviews HMRC may also ask for business records to be sent either by post or electronically by a secure platform.