Tesco Linwood staff save customers from iTunes scam

HMRC is asking supermarket workers to step up and protect customers from a scam that's seen hundreds of Scots conned out of thousands.

It is after staff at the Tesco in Linwood did just that - they stepped in when an elderly woman and autistic man tried to buy large sums of iTunes vouchers.

Fraudsters had convinced them they owed money and could pay it back using the gift cards.

The Minister has written to the Tesco employees to thank them for protecting the public from the scam.

Mel Stride, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General said:

"I’d like to thank the diligent staff at Tesco Linwood who spotted the tell-tale signs and acted quickly to stop criminals using the HMRC brand to steal from vulnerable people.”

“HMRC’s awareness campaign to alert the public is clearly paying off and it is fantastic to see front-line retail employees acting as the last line of defence.”

The quick-witted staff at Tesco Linwood spotted customers purchasing hundreds of pounds of iTunes vouchers. A conversation with the customers quickly revealed that they were being tricked into settling a fictitious tax bill using iTunes vouchers.

Tesco staff recognised this as a known scam, where criminals are preying on victims by cold calling them and impersonating an HMRC member of staff. They tell them that they owe large amounts of tax which they can only pay off through digital vouchers and gift cards, including those used for Apple’s iTunes Store.

Victims are told to go to a local shop, buy these vouchers, and then read out the redemption code to the scammer, who has kept them on the phone the whole time. The conmen then sell on the codes or purchase high-value products, all at the victim’s expense.

The scammers frequently use intimidation to get what they want, threatening to seize the victim’s property or involve the police. The use of vouchers is an attractive scam as they are easy to sell on and hard to trace once used. HMRC would never request the settling of debt through such a method.

HMRC is taking action daily to shut down scamming operations including identifying and initiating the takedown of website links being used by criminals, blocking text messages, blocking emails, and recent high profile awareness campaigns.

HMRC will write to the Chief Executives of the major retailers asking them to share the details of this scam with their staff.