Scammers targeting garages with fraudulent government calls

Fraudsters known to be using Government Legal Department (GLD) general enquiry number

Scammers targeting garages with fraudulent government calls
Image: Bigstock.

Scammers are attempting to take money from garage businesses under the guise of official UK government departments, the Independent Garage Association (IGA) has warned.

The IGA was first made aware of such scams earlier this month.

In most of the reported cases, fraudsters claim they are calling from GLD or HMRC, with the Government Legal Department (GLD) enquiry line number (020 7210 8500) showing in the caller ID.

An IGA spokesperson said: “They are usually very aggressive on the phone, threatening members of the public that if they do not pay a certain amount of money, the police will arrest them.

“These calls are not being made by GLD or HMRC.

“GLD will never call you from its enquiry line number, never ask you for your bank details or to pay money over the phone.

“If you believe this has happened to you please contact us via our direct membership helpline number, or 0845 305 4230, or email us at [email protected] so we can make other members aware of what is happening.”

To report a scam, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or fill in an online report.

When making your report, ask for it to be associated with report reference NFRC200803859141.

Suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC should be forwarded to [email protected] and texts to 60599.

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