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A BBC investigation has found that criminal gangs have registered companies with thousands of home addresses.
The families were unknowingly and even targeted.
Investigations have revealed that criminal gangs have registered a large number of companies with addresses across the UK.
Most homeowners rarely actively check the Companies House and HMRC websites, making it difficult to spot.
What Happened?
The investigation began after it was discovered that almost every address on a street in Oldham had companies registered, in just one day.
These newly registered “companies” were all established on May 27 this year and have the same representative.
When people began to collect large amounts of letters that they did not belong to, a flood of information told them that it was no accidental address error.
Why was Wrongly Registered
It is easy for people to want to register a company. It only takes 12 pounds and a dozen minutes to successfully register a company.
Once registration is submitted, operations can begin within 24 hours without even being checked.
These addresses would be used to defraud banks or government agencies, and homeowners would receive confusing bills and letters.
A spokesman for Companies House said that although the registration application was subject to a document integrity check, it did not have the right to know when this information was.
Therefore, this is also the reason why a large number of addresses are registered as companies.
How to Check by Yourself
If you continue to receive any letters that are not yours, they may be from a government agency or bills mailed from a different address.
Usually people get these ok letters and think it’s a blunder and never even open them until they get more weird letters and then start noticing and trying to figure out why.
You can use any online credit assessment system to check your bank account or report to the originator.
The most important thing is to open Companies House and click Get information about a company Click Start now and enter your full address or approximate zip code to see all the registered companies.
What's next?
If you become aware of any registered company using your address without your consent or knowledge, report it to Action Fraud immediately, or call 0300 123 2040
Action Fraud is the National Fraud and Cybercrime Reporting Centre, which helps you find problems and process requests.
If you notice a bank account on any credit report that does not belong to you, please contact the organization immediately and report the error promptly.
The good news is that agencies have taken note of the magnitude of the problem and will supplement the bill in the future to reduce the potential for fraud.
In any case, you should quickly check the address and credit account for suspicious information and report it in time to reduce subsequent troubles.
You may also want to read this article: Beware of ‘careless mistakes’
