Fergie's Tech Blog

UK Cyberfraud Shuts Down Tax Credit Portal

Jeremy Kirk writes in NetworkWorld:

The U.K. tax authority shut down a tax credits Web site Thursday and a criminal investigation is underway concerning possible identity theft, a spokesman confirmed Monday.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) identified and stopped attempts of fraud during compliance checks on its tax credits e-portal, the agency said in a news release. New checks are being developed to ensure the system is secure, the agency said. No other systems were affected.

The fraud concerned internal information on workers at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the spokesman said. The criminal investigation revolves around the apparent false use of a number of DWP identities in fraudulent tax credit claims. No external DWP records were affected, the agency said.

posted by Fergie @ 12/05/2005 08:29:00 AM