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Reporting Scams Pretending To Be From Companies House

9th December 2022

Photograph of Reporting Scams Pretending To Be From Companies House

What to do if you think you've spotted a scam pretending to be from Companies House, and examples of scam emails, letters and telephone calls.

Scam telephone calls
Late filing penalty payment
Companies have been contacted asking for payment of a late filing penalty over the telephone. The caller says they'll accept a payment of £5 by credit or debit to place a hold on any further action being taken.

We will not contact you for immediate payment of a late filing penalty or request payment of a nominal fee to place a hold on any recovery action.

Payment plans are set up with the agreement of the manager dealing with your late filing penalty query. We will not cold call you to take a payment.

Asking for your authentication code
We'll never ask you what your authentication code is over the phone.

If anyone calls you claiming to be from Companies House asking for your authentication code - try to get a return telephone number and contact us immediately on 0303 1234 500.

Asking for directors' details
Companies have been telephoned by people claiming to be from Companies House, who request details of their company’s directors.

After being advised there’s a discrepancy with the information held on the register, the caller requests information such as full dates of birth for directors.

We’ll never contact you by telephone to find out who your officers are, or ask for secure information.

If anyone calls you claiming to be from Companies House asking for this information - try to get a return telephone number and contact us immediately on 0303 1234 500.

Scam emails
We’re aware of suspicious emails being sent that claim to be from Companies House.

Some emails might have an attachment, such as a Word document, and may ask you to enter an authorisation code. These emails have not been generated by us.

If you receive a suspicious email, you should report it to us immediately at phishing@companieshouse.gov.uk.

Do not disclose any personal information or open any attachments. Companies House will never ask for your authentication code.

Scam email request to use an a-Sign platform to download documents
Some people have reported receiving phishing emails in the form of a request to download documents about the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill second reading.

The email address may be clearly fraudulent, but even if the email seems to be from Companies House, customers should be aware that the email is not from Companies House.

If you’ve received one of these emails forward it to phishing@companieshouse.gov.uk and then delete it.

Do not try to view any attachments contained in the email.

Phishing scam with subject line ‘Hundreds of phone calls and emails have been sent in the name of your company - Notice #’
This scam email claims that hundreds of phonecalls and emails have been sent in your company name. It also asks customers to click a link to see what type of information has been sent. These emails are not from us.

If you’ve received one of these emails forward it to phishing@companieshouse.gov.uk and delete it from all mailboxes, including your deleted items.

Do not click any links or buttons or enter any details.

Phishing scam asking to verify your identity
Some customers have received emails from "noreply@companieshousel.ink" asking to ‘Verify your identity by Friday, Feb 8". These emails claim to be from Companies House and HMRC.

If you receive any emails from this sender, forward them to phishing@companieshouse.gov.uk as soon as possible.

See much more at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/reporting-scams-pretending-to-be-from-companies-house