Britain has declared war on the fraudsters who steal billions of pounds a year from innocent victims.
A lot of good work is going on to cut off opportunities for trickery but there is one gaping hole in the programme – a fraudster’s breeding ground that the Government is totally ignoring. And that is Companies House.
This is the United Kingdom’s registrar of businesses, including details of directors, shareholders, and registered office addresses.
As it is an official register there is an assumption that all of this information, which can easily be accessed online, is accurate.
But this could not be further from the truth. For as little as £12 anyone can set up a company and no checks are carried out to ensure the information given to Companies House is genuine.
Those who set up companies can then name anyone they like as directors or shareholders to make the enterprise look genuine or more impressive – and this is precisely what fraudsters are doing.
'I lost £34,000 thinking the company was real'
For example, Damien from Middlesbrough was lured into an investing £34,000 with fraudsters who promised significant returns.
They directed him to the Companies House register as verification of their credentials and it displayed a long list of their directors who seemed to be involved in other, legitimate, organisations.
This was enough to convince him, but of course it was a scam, and the named directors were nothing to do with the company.
The same tactic is being used more and more. It is therefore the ultimate scam tool for fraudsters – an official website containing information that the public will automatically believe is genuine.
The Government must act now and give Companies House the funding and power to check information before it is put on the register. No one should be named as a director or shareholder without verification, as is now commonplace elsewhere.
I have two important tips for consumers. First, search for your name on the register from time to time to make sure you have not been falsely listed in a fraudulent operation.
Secondly, if someone is trying to sell you something and uses Companies House as a source of verification for its credentials or legitimacy, do proceed with caution. This should be a big red flag.
