HMRC lockouts, rogue tax agents and growing concerns
Wilkins Southworth
Chartered Certified Accountants, Registered Auditors and Specialist Tax Advisers
While the move to complete digitisation was expected and has significant benefits, the growing number of tax agent accounts being frozen by HMRC is concerning. Managing tens of millions of accounts, it's understandable that HMRC is more obsessive than most regarding security. However, there are reports that some lockouts take weeks and months to resolve, leading to damaging knock-on effects.
How significant is the threat of unauthorised access?
If we look at the figures for the 2022/23 tax year, HMRC reported:-
Considering that most individuals will not report suspicious contact to HMRC, we can safely assume this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Why might an HMRC account be locked?
As a tax agent, individual or company, the common reason for a lockout is "suspicious activity" on the account. This could be something as simple as using an old password, accessing from a different location (potentially overseas on holiday) or something more sinister. For many tax agents, the main problem is the lack of clarity, detail and a timetable for resolution and restoration of the account.
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The impact of a tax agent account lockout
Similar to losing access to your bank account, but much worse, the potential impact of a locked tax agent account takes in many issues:-
While each of these issues is a significant concern, reputational damage can be the most difficult to repair in the longer term, whether for a sole trader or a more prominent accountancy firm.
Summary
We have published a more in-depth article (add link here) on our website that also looks at how fraudsters may attempt to harvest your login details. It's important to be aware of the issues and the potential impact and be vigilant.?
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