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Cyber gangs target UK consumers with phishing scams

Cyber gangs based in Mexico, Nigeria and Russia are said to be behind phishing scams targeting UK residents and up to a million people may have been victims, it has emerged.

Details of such scams have been passed on to the police by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), according to a report in the Telegraph newspaper.

Those affected include both individuals and businesses and the peak in the scams was reported in the run up to the recent January 31st deadline on tax returns when thousands were apparently being reported.

However, the figures seem to have fallen down but police are reported to be putting pressure on internet service providers to crack down on the illegal sites dishing out the online threats.

"It is very worrying," Stephen Alambritis, head of strategy at the Federation of Small Businesses is quoted by the newspaper as saying. "We have been surprised and worried by the way the scams are organised."

Some 67 per cent of UK taxpayers used HMRC's website to file their self-assessment tax returns this year.

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