Scammers are targeting thousands of business owners offering fake tax rebates.

HMRC has warned self assessment customers to be on guard after it respnded to more than 180,000 reports of suspicious contact in the year to August 2022.

Of those almost 81,000 were scams offering fake tax rebates.

Criminals claiming to be from HMRC have targeted individuals by email, text and phone  offering bogus tax rebates to threatening arrest for tax evasion.

The number of phone scams have rapidly increased since Covid. In April 2020 HMRC received reports of 425 phone scams. In August 2022 this was 5,913.

However, the annual number was down in the 12 months to August 2022, when HMRC responded to 55,386 reports of phone scams in total, 87 per cent less than the previous year.

HMRC said fraudsters often target customers when they know they are more likely to be in contact with HMRC, which is why Self Assessment customers should be extra vigilant as the deadline approaches.

It is concerned new customers might be tricked into clicking on bogus links or texts and revealing personal or financial information to criminals.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC's director general for customer services, said: "Never let yourself be rushed. If someone contacts you saying they're from HMRC, wanting you to urgently transfer money or give personal information, be on your guard.

"HMRC will never ring up threatening arrest. Only criminals do that.

"Contacts like these should set alarm bells ringing, so take your time and check HMRC scams advice."

Its dedicated Customer Protection Team works to identify and close down scams and tackle misleading websites which charge to connect people to free HMRC phone helplines.

Since 2017, the department has recovered more than 183 websites hosting low-value services such as call-connection sites, saving the public millions of pounds.

In the year ending August 2022 it reported 10,565 malicious web pages for takedown and worked with the telecoms industry and Ofcom to remove 48 phone numbers being used to commit HMRC-related phone scams.

The deadline for filing paper tax returns for the 2021 to 2022 tax year is October 31, 2022, and January 31, 2023 for those filing their tax return online.

Customers who file their return online should not share their login details. Someone using the details could steal from the customer or make a fraudulent claim in their name.

Scam advice is available on gov.uk

Customers can forward suspicious texts claiming to be from HMRC to 60599 and emails to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.

Tax scam phone calls can be reported to HMRC online.