HMRC has highlighted that agent accounts are often a target for fraudsters and that it will act quickly where it believes that an agent account (HMRC online services for agents or agent services account) has been compromised. It will write to the agent and may suspend an account without notice. The letter may arrive after the account is suspended.

Where an account has been suspended, the agent should contact HMRC’s online services helpdesk on 0300 200 3600. The helpdesk will call the agent back within 72 hours to walk them through a password reset across all government gateway IDs and all third-party filing software. 

HMRC says that it may not always be possible to operate within this timescale and that some cases will take longer to resolve. HMRC is asking agents to refrain from contacting other HMRC teams to avoid slowing the process down.

Agents should be proactive to avoid this problem arising. To help protect their accounts against fraud, agents should ensure passwords and sign-in credentials are secure, and that any devices are free from malware, by: 

• choosing strong passwords;
• changing passwords regularly; and
• ensuring anti-virus software is kept up to date.

HMRC also recommends regular security check-ups with cyber security specialists, particularly if the agent has had issues in the past.

If an agent thinks their accounts have been compromised and want to report it to HMRC they should contact the online services helpdesk.

Further information

• Agent Update, issue 129