Fraudster impersonating my business

rusty

Member
Last week I had a phone call from a finance company enquiring about a tractor I was wanting to finance. I am not buying or financing a tractor but someone else is using my details. They have set up a fake website using my details lifted from my companies house registration of my Ltd company. The website was set up 3 weeks ago using stock photos of American farms. The finance company got suspicious and managed to find my mobile number and alerted me. I have had another finance company contact me this morning with presumably the same person trying to borrow 100K to buy a Volvo tractor. He said the guy on the phone sounded quite posh and was supposedly from Oxford. Both finance companies mentioned a company called Machine Movers from west Yorkshire but I can't find any details of such a company.
We have emailed our 'Relationship manager' at our bank to inform them of what is happening but on past experience they will do F all . I also used NFU Call First legal advice and it seems there is little I can do about the fake website.

Not sure what else we can do but my worry is that if a finance company does get scammed it will leave a black mark against our credit rating.
 
I don't understand how they are intending to get money out of anyone just by creating a false business that has the same name and details as someone else's?

Surely any lender would need a lot more details from a business or person before they would even consider parting with money??

Maybe someone in Oxford can find out who the geezer is and kneecap them.
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
Last week I had a phone call from a finance company enquiring about a tractor I was wanting to finance. I am not buying or financing a tractor but someone else is using my details. They have set up a fake website using my details lifted from my companies house registration of my Ltd company. The website was set up 3 weeks ago using stock photos of American farms. The finance company got suspicious and managed to find my mobile number and alerted me. I have had another finance company contact me this morning with presumably the same person trying to borrow 100K to buy a Volvo tractor. He said the guy on the phone sounded quite posh and was supposedly from Oxford. Both finance companies mentioned a company called Machine Movers from west Yorkshire but I can't find any details of such a company.
We have emailed our 'Relationship manager' at our bank to inform them of what is happening but on past experience they will do F all . I also used NFU Call First legal advice and it seems there is little I can do about the fake website.

Not sure what else we can do but my worry is that if a finance company does get scammed it will leave a black mark against our credit rating.
Are you sure the "finance companies" ringing you are not part of the scam? I find it strange that one would "find" your number to warn you or the fraudsters would give your number as the contact number.
Very odd, dont give anybody your bank details ffs.
 

Netherfield

Member
Location
West Yorkshire
I don't understand how they are intending to get money out of anyone just by creating a false business that has the same name and details as someone else's?

Surely any lender would need a lot more details from a business or person before they would even consider parting with money??

Maybe someone in Oxford can find out who the geezer is and kneecap them.
Frontal lobotomy would be better.
 

rusty

Member
I don't understand how they are intending to get money out of anyone just by creating a false business that has the same name and details as someone else's?

Surely any lender would need a lot more details from a business or person before they would even consider parting with money??

Maybe someone in Oxford can find out who the geezer is and kneecap them.
I think the web site is trying to give them some sort of profile but to anyone in the know it's not a British farm. The two finance companies that I am aware of them trying to scam are not ones that usually do tractors and so are probably unaware that some things are not right . The one today was wanting 100k for a Volvo tractor. The finance guy didn't know that there aren't Volvo tractors in the U.K. Until he spoke to a mate of his connected with agriculture.
 

farmerdan7618

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Last week I had a phone call from a finance company enquiring about a tractor I was wanting to finance. I am not buying or financing a tractor but someone else is using my details. They have set up a fake website using my details lifted from my companies house registration of my Ltd company. The website was set up 3 weeks ago using stock photos of American farms. The finance company got suspicious and managed to find my mobile number and alerted me. I have had another finance company contact me this morning with presumably the same person trying to borrow 100K to buy a Volvo tractor. He said the guy on the phone sounded quite posh and was supposedly from Oxford. Both finance companies mentioned a company called Machine Movers from west Yorkshire but I can't find any details of such a company.
We have emailed our 'Relationship manager' at our bank to inform them of what is happening but on past experience they will do F all . I also used NFU Call First legal advice and it seems there is little I can do about the fake website.

Not sure what else we can do but my worry is that if a finance company does get scammed it will leave a black mark against our credit rating.
Best thing you can do is get a schedule of all your borrowings together, get it countersigned by a solicitor and your accountant, along with details of the people who are authorised to apply for credit for the business.

May not stop the imposter, but can be used to remove fraudulent borrowings from your credit history.
 
I think the web site is trying to give them some sort of profile but to anyone in the know it's not a British farm. The two finance companies that I am aware of them trying to scam are not ones that usually do tractors and so are probably unaware that some things are not right . The one today was wanting 100k for a Volvo tractor. The finance guy didn't know that there aren't Volvo tractors in the U.K. Until he spoke to a mate of his connected with agriculture.
There no Volvo BM tractors in the UK?
And if they were would they be 100k?
 

No wot

Member
Surely any lender would need a lot more details from a business or person before they would even consider parting with money??

Maybe someone in Oxford can find out who the geezer is and kneecap them.

Scammers stole 11k from one high street bank by opening a account in my name from either fishing my name and address from my post box or limited details from the internet then going through my post box and nicking the envelope's with pin number and then the card , ps they opened numerous accounts with every different bank and by the law of odds they were successful with one , fortunately I was in the clear , days of walking into the bank with stocking's on your head & sawn off shot gun are long gone
 

Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
I don't understand how they are intending to get money out of anyone just by creating a false business that has the same name and details as someone else's?

Surely any lender would need a lot more details from a business or person before they would even consider parting with money??

Maybe someone in Oxford can find out who the geezer is and kneecap them.
Lending against goods is the current biggest scam going, check out Arena productions , they did the filming at Glastonbury for a start have apparently been the front of a £450 million pound scam of this sort. Only caught out when some auditor started checking out the serial numbers of some of their equipment
 
Lending against goods is the current biggest scam going, check out Arena productions , they did the filming at Glastonbury for a start have apparently been the front of a £450 million pound scam of this sort. Only caught out when some auditor started checking out the serial numbers of some of their equipment

How though? Explain it to me? It' strikes me as very worrying that someone could borrow money by impersonating you or your business and not something you can do much to defend yourself from?

Lots of businesses must have a website for marketing purposes and on which they will state their name, address, postcode, business owners/directors and probably their VAT number. How does a criminal go and get money leant to them from just these details?
 

Blue.

Member
Livestock Farmer
If you’ve a google business page add your mobile or landline,just so anyone else finds it easier to contact you.
 

Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
How though? Explain it to me? It' strikes me as very worrying that someone could borrow money by impersonating you or your business and not something you can do much to defend yourself from?

Lots of businesses must have a website for marketing purposes and on which they will state their name, address, postcode, business owners/directors and probably their VAT number. How does a criminal go and get money leant to them from just these details?
Ah but Arena productions did it themselves ( alledgedly )
 

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