The tax authority said it is writing to those affected to confirm they haven't lost any money and they don't need to do anything

Two senior civil servants at HMRC told the treasury committee that 100,000 people have been contacted, or are in the process of being contacted, after their accounts were locked down in what they said was an “organised crime” incident that began last year.

A phishing scam has cost HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) £47 million, a group of MPs has been told. The personal tax accounts of tens of thousands of people were breached in what two senior civil servants at HMRC described to the Treasury Committee as an "organised crime" incident that began last year.