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Check whether an invoice, payment change or HMRC message is a scam
An email says a supplier's bank details have changed, or a text claims HMRC owes you a refund. Get a calm check of the warning signs and what to do next, before any money moves.
The prompt · ChatGPT
Help me check whether this message is a scam. Who it claims to be from: [supplier, HMRC, bank, delivery company] How it arrived: [email, text, phone, letter] The message: [paste the text; don't click any links] Was I expecting it: [yes or no] First ask me up to 3 short questions. Wait for my answers. Then: 1. The warning signs in this message, if any. 2. How to check it safely: who to contact and how, using details I already have, not the ones in the message. 3. What not to do until it's checked. 4. Look up how to report suspicious emails and HMRC scams on GOV.UK, name the pages and summarise the steps. 5. A short rule for my team so bank detail changes are always checked by phone. Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts or figures. UK English. For GOV.UK pages on reporting suspicious emails and HMRC scams, use web search and name the page you used. If it doesn't search on its own, open View all tools and choose Search. Stay in this ChatGPT chat. Do not turn on apps or connectors, and do not use memory from another chat.
A short example
Fill the blanks, then paste. supplier, HMRC, bank, delivery company: a short note you already have. email, text, phone, letter: a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.
The prompt · Copilot
Help me check whether this message is a scam. Who it claims to be from: [supplier, HMRC, bank, delivery company] How it arrived: [email, text, phone, letter] The message: [paste the text; don't click any links] Was I expecting it: [yes or no] First ask me up to 3 short questions. Wait for my answers. Then: 1. The warning signs in this message, if any. 2. How to check it safely: who to contact and how, using details I already have, not the ones in the message. 3. What not to do until it's checked. 4. Look up how to report suspicious emails and HMRC scams on GOV.UK, name the pages and summarise the steps. 5. A short rule for my team so bank detail changes are always checked by phone. Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts or figures. UK English. For GOV.UK pages on reporting suspicious emails and HMRC scams, switch to Search mode so the answer comes with a citation. Stay in this Copilot chat. Leave plugins off, and do not open a file from OneDrive.
A short example
Fill the blanks, then paste. supplier, HMRC, bank, delivery company: a short note you already have. email, text, phone, letter: a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.
You paste the message (without clicking any links) and say who it claims to be from.
The assistant asks how it arrived and whether you were expecting it.
You get the warning signs it shows, what to check through a known contact, and how to report it on GOV.UK.
What happens
Use Copilot to check whether an invoice, payment change or HMRC message is a scam
An email says a supplier's bank details have changed, or a text claims HMRC owes you a refund. Get a calm check of the warning signs and what to do next, before any money moves.
Tools
Paste the prompt, fill the blanks, copy the draft.
- Microsoft Copilot — required. Drafts from the text you paste. Nothing is sent.
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