HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has helped avert more than one million visits to deceptive websites, including those which promote misleading and costly helpline numbers, it has revealed.

“When someone searches online for HMRC’s phone numbers or digital services they can be directed to other websites. Some of these promote premium rate, non-HMRC numbers as a means of reaching the department,” the tax authority said.

“These are in fact call forwarding services which connect callers to HMRC, but at a hefty price, despite HMRC’s own 0300 numbers being free or charged at the national landline rate. In other cases, sites charge for forwarding information to HMRC which can be provided free of charge through GOV.UK.”

This tact is often an attempt to mislead customers and gain business at their expense, without making clear the service is not affiliated with HMRC, it added.

HMRC said its cyber security team had “taken control” of more than 75 of these dubious sites since January 2017.

Those trying to contact HMRC through these sites will not redirect to the official GOV.UK site.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Director for Customer Services, said: “HMRC takes the abuse of its brand very seriously. Attempts to dupe customers in this way won’t be tolerated and we will always act to protect the public from malicious or misleading websites.”

The Revenue added that it has requested the removal of a further 20,000 malicious websites in the past year.