A campaign against phishing scams has been launched by tax authority HMRC.

It has issued new guidance which seeks to warn taxpayers about how these scams operate.

The aim of phishing is to obtain personal and corporate information fraudulently.

The HMRC has identified a new trend which focuses on the completion of what are apparently legitimate forms from well known companies especially utilities.

The organisers of phishing scams will often request bank account details.

In other variants, recipients will told that they have received a tax rebate. The revenue authority says that many people have been taken in by phishing.

The UK’s bankers have lent support to the initiative by issuing their own warnings.

The British Bankers Association has pointed out that as a rule banks do not send out requests for personal details by email and any such messages should be treated with suspicion.