- Short code
- 60599
- Type
- Text short code
- Operated by
- HM Revenue & Customs
- Cost
- Your standard network rate
- Category
- Reporting scams and getting help
- Verified
- 13 August 2026
What 60599 is for
HMRC-branded smishing is one of the most common scam text themes in the UK, usually offering a refund or demanding an urgent payment. Forwarding the message to 60599 reports it to HMRC's own phishing team, which is separate from reporting it to your network on 7726. You can do both.
HMRC will never text you about a tax rebate or penalty, and will never ask for personal or payment information by text.
What it costs
Your standard network rate. GOV.UK is explicit that texts to 60599 are charged at your network rate - unlike 7726, this one is not free.
Text 60599 — how it works
- Forward the whole message to 60599 (charged at your network rate).
- Or email a screenshot to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk.
- Forward it to 7726 as well - that is free and reports it to your mobile network.
- Delete the message. Never tap a link in it.
Is 60599 safe, and is it spoofed?
Messages arriving from a short code are a different matter. Sender IDs on inbound texts are easy to fake, and a fraudulent message can even land in the same thread as genuine ones. Never act on a link or a request for codes, passwords or payment in an inbound text, however convincing the sender looks. HMRC does send genuine texts to some customers, which is exactly why the fakes work. If a message asks for anything, treat it as fake and sign in at GOV.UK yourself.
If a text or call is trying to rush you, threaten you, or get a password, one-time code or payment out of you, it is a scam whatever number it shows. Read our guide to the UK number ranges scammers use and how to spot a smishing text, and forward anything suspicious free to 7726.
Where this came from
We do not guess short codes. Every entry in this directory was checked against the organisation that runs the code, or against gov.uk or the regulator:
- GOV.UK – Report scam HMRC messages, calls and social media accounts
- GOV.UK – Identify tax scam phone calls, emails and text messages
Checked against these sources on 13 August 2026. Short codes and their charges do change — if the operator’s page now says something different, believe the operator.
Checking an ordinary number instead
Short codes are not in Ofcom’s numbering data — only full UK numbers are. If it is a normal 01, 02, 03, 07, 08 or 09 number you want to identify, put it into the phone number checker and you will get its type, its area and the provider Ofcom allocated the range to.
Other UK short codes
All verified UK short codes › · UK area codes › · UK network operators ›