Should read "...but people must learn that there really is no such thing as a Government admitting a mistake and giving a refund."

Ummm - do the emails contain the bank details etc?

Or is it just a spam phish i.e. please be dumb enough to hand us your personal details.

If it is the former then there is *nothing* to link this to the data discs and this story is rubbish.

If it is the latter, then why haven't the mainstream press picked this up as obviously the HMRC data has been found?

Cheers,

Mike

The email pictured in the story makes no mention of data loss or compensation, it just says you're entitled to a tax rebate....

Crap grammar (full stop used instead of comma, "in order to" instead of "to", missing space), broken image, generally weird and obviously non-native syntax... this is exactly what I'd expect an email from the Government to look like. I'd have trouble telling the difference.

(I'd like to know where the discs come into it too, though. But I don't mind being reminded of the government's collosal stupidity. Don't stop banging on about it when people say they're sick of hearing about it, keep going until people are sick of it happening and overthrow these morons.

Paris Hilton icon because she needs a "Where's the Government incompetence angle?" icon to keep her company.)

It should be "HMRC Ambition"

I think we also need a varient of a men at work sign - i.e "warning government shafting is inevitable" sign!

in the old days i used to work at a multistory govt building....

it use to amuse me when the window cleaners came around as they use place "caution men at work" signed around the builings and entrances...

obvuisoly to warn about falling buckets and mops etc.

but i couldnt help chuckle and deliberately mis interpret at reffering to the workers inside.... know who the IT Service providers where it wouldnt surprie me to learn that specual signs were put up when the DBAs or Middleware staff had finally turned up for and where work! (opposed to merely "attending")

It started much earlier.with identical wording to a US version.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/security/fraud-attempts.htm

I had this same email months before the HMRC data loss

Around the same time, I also had one with the USA's IRS logo on it.