I lost £34,000 after fraudsters convinced me their business was real as it was registered on Companies House
A MAN has revealed how he was scammed into investing £34,000 by crooks in a scam using Companies House.
Damien, from Middlesbrough, agreed to hand over the cash after being directed to the website for the United Kingdom's list of companies – trusting the business was real as it was registered with the agency.
The Brit was promised he would get significant returns from the investment but instead lost thousands of pounds – with fears fraudsters are stealing billions from innocent victims by registering fake information on Companies House.
The Mirror reported that when Damien checked the company online, he saw it displayed a long list of the company's directors who appeared to be involved in other, legitimate, organisations and also seemed to verify their credentials.
Have you been scammed by fraudsters using this tactic? Contact [email protected] or call 02077824208
However he was scammed out of his money, with the so-called directors only having to have paid £12 to set up a company on the websites.
There are no checks carried out to ensure that the information displayed by Companies House is genuine and correct.
Anyone who sets up a company can name anyone as a shareholder or director to try to make the business look more genuine.
Companies House is the UK’s register of businesses, which includes the register's office addresses as well as director information.
Most read in The Sun
FAMILY'S FURY 
Monster gave Angel a life sentence but he'll be out in two years, say family
Gran, 49, detained after grandson, 5, stabbed to death as family pay tribute
This Morning's Phillip Schofield breaks down in tears at emotional TV finale
Kerry 'gutted' as Katie joins OnlyFans & forgets to use her referral code
Fraudsters are using the tactic more and more to swindle innocent people out of their money.
Experts have warned Brits to carry out additional checks to verify that the information is legitimate.
They are also advising that people be wary if Companies House is being used by sellers to try to verify its credentials.
A spokesman for Companies House said: “Allegations of fraud are taken seriously and referred to law enforcement partners where suspected cases are identified.
“The UK Government has consulted on giving Companies House the power to verify the identities of people behind companies and query, investigate and in some circumstances remove false information on the register.
“These measures will be legislated for when Parliamentary time allows.”
We pay for your stories!
Do you have a story for The Sun news desk?
Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4104. You can WhatsApp us on 07423 720 250. We pay for videos too.
Click here to upload yours.
Click here to get The Sun newspaper delivered for FREE for the next six weeks.
Source: Read Full Article