Companies House issues warning over scammers
Companies House has issued warnings to directors after a rise in scam emails following the organisation’s new identity verification processes.
The scams are designed to create urgency and encourage directors to hand over personal information or click malicious links.
While the changes are intended to help tackle economic crime and improve trust in the UK company register, criminals are exploiting uncertainty around the new rules to target businesses.
What is the scam?
The scam typically starts with an email claiming that a company director, Person with Significant Control (PSC) or other company officer must complete an identity verification process.
The message often contains urgent language and may warn recipients that failing to act could result in penalties, restrictions or compliance issues. The aim is to pressure recipients into responding before they have time to verify whether the communication is genuine.
Many of the fraudulent emails closely resemble legitimate messages from Companies House.
In some cases, scammers have copied wording directly from official correspondence, making the emails appear authentic at first glance.
However, recipients are often directed to fake websites that have been created to collect personal information, login credentials or financial details.
Companies House has made it clear that these requests should be treated with suspicion.
What do fraudsters want my information for?
If criminals successfully obtain personal or company information, they may use it for a range of fraudulent purposes.
Information such as names, dates of birth, addresses and contact details can be used to commit identity theft or build a detailed profile of an individual director.
This information may then be used to impersonate them in future scams or financial crimes.
Fraudsters could also attempt to gain access to company accounts, submit unauthorised filings or impersonate directors when communicating with suppliers, customers or financial institutions.
If authentication codes or account credentials are compromised, criminals may be able to access sensitive information or make changes to company records.
In many cases, stolen data does not remain with a single criminal group. Personal and business information can be sold to other fraudsters and used in future phishing campaigns, banking scams, invoice fraud schemes or tax-related scams.
Once a director has been identified as a potential target, they may become the focus of increasingly sophisticated attacks.
What are the signs of a scam to look out for?
Business owners need to look out for signs of scams to ensure they do not fall victim to them. Signs to look out for include:
- Emails sent from non-genuine email addresses that do not end in Gov.uk – all emails from Companies House will end in official government domains.
- Messages that create a sense of urgency and demand immediate action.
- Requests for information that do not have a clear reason.
- Links to websites that do not use an official Government web address.
- Emails with suspicious attachments, unusual wording or spelling mistakes.
If you have received an email from Companies House that you believe is a scam, report it immediately to: phishing@companieshouse.gov.uk and delete the email from all mailboxes. Full guidance on scams can be found here.
