Global / UK & Romania— Romanian authorities, in collaboration with the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), have arrested 13 individuals aged 23–53 in Romania and a 38-year-old man in Preston on charges of orchestrating a sprawling phishing campaign. The group allegedly targeted approximately 100,000 UK taxpayers, submitting fraudulent claims and siphoning off £47 million (£47M), approximately ₹4,150 crore in illegitimate tax refunds and benefits.
Phishers Exploit Spoofed Tax Communications
According to HMRC, scammers harvested personal data obtained through phishing and third-party breaches to pose as taxpayers. They manipulated the UK’s PAYE, VAT, and Child Benefit systems, quietly generating fabricated refund requests. HMRC later secured the compromised 100,000 accounts, deleted unauthorised credentials, and confirmed no direct victim suffered financial loss, but £47M had already been successfully claimed before detection.
Romanian police, with support from over 100 officers, executed coordinated raids across Ilfov, Giurgiu, and Călărași counties. They arrested 13 suspects, while UK enforcement detained a 38-year-old man in Preston. Authorities describe this as “organised crime phishing,” with criminals leveraging stolen identity data—not hacking HMRC systems—to access taxpayer accounts and initiate illegitimate payouts.
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A Cross-Border Crackdown on Tax Fraud
This joint operation underscores intensified cooperation between HMRC, Romanian police, and the CPS. The arrests were overseen by Romanian economic-crimes units operating alongside HMRC fraud investigators, signalling a robust global response to digital tax scams.
HMRC officials assured that approximately £1.9 billion (approx ₹21,874 crores) of attempted refund fraud was blocked during the previous tax year, and that they continue to fortify their systems and educate taxpayers against phishing attacks.