Officials are warning people to remain vigilant after they received more than 400 reports about fake HMRC emails.

Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, recieved 442 reports in two weeks about fake emails purporting to be from HMRC.

The emails state that the recipient is owed a tax refund (rebate).

However, the links provided in the emails lead to genuine-looking phishing websites that are designed to steal personal and financial information.

A spokesperson for Action Fraud said: "HMRC will never send notifications of a tax rebate or ask you to disclose personal or financial information by email."

If you have recieved a suspicious email claiming to be from the HMRC forward it to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.