Shipley computer firm boss warns thers to beware con artists (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Shipley computer firm boss warns thers to beware con artists

10:57am Wednesday 1st September 2010 in

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A Shipley computer firm boss whose company lost tens of thousands of pounds through corporate identity fraud is warning other small businesses to be on their guard.

Angus Young’s company, Matrix IT Computers, lost £27,000 when criminals “hijacked” a legitimate company by obtaining its details, changing its registered trading address with Companies House, and having computer equipment delivered to the false address.

The same criminal gang is thought to have got away with hundreds of thousands of pounds after hijacking at least nine companies across the country.

The criminals posed as the legitimate company in order for Matrix to supply laptop computers to the false address.

Mr Young said: “We credit-checked this company and the address with our factoring company, the Royal Bank of Scotland, which we have bad debt insurance with, and they gave them a credit limit of £25,000. We are not covered for this bad debt, as it is classed as a fraud.”

He said his company, which employs five people, was now struggling to pay suppliers and one person had been laid off.

He added: “We are a small business, so it’s a lot of money for us to lose. It has affected us badly.

“I want to warn other small businesses about corporate identity fraud. You can actually register your business at a car park or have a shed as your registered address. It’s quite shocking what you can do. The law badly needs to be changed.”

He urged businesses to make thorough checks of new customers.

Mr Young said police had been “extremely lacklustre” after the fraud was reported to them, and described Companies House as “not in the slightest bit interested or sympathetic”.

Alan Norton, head of intelligence with commercial credit reference agency Graydon UK, said the authorities did not have sufficient resources to deal with the problem and there was a lack of action.

He said businesses could protect themselves by monitoring their own credit and using credit reference agencies for changes to circumstances.

Mr Norton said: “Businesses can help themselves by talking to people in the industry if they are aware of something suspicious and passing the information around.”

Companies House advises on issues relating to fraudulently filed statutory documents but does not have specific investigatory powers.

It said: “The increase in fraud is a serious matter and we fully appreciate customer concerns and want to do all we can to assist in resolving these issues.”

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “We received a report of fraud from a Shipley-based company earlier this year and the matter has been looked into. Detectives are now dealing with ongoing inquiries.

An RBS spokesman said: “The purpose of our bad debt protection service is specifically to protect our customers from the insolvency of a debtor.”