Chip shop owner worried by business clone scammers

Des Anastasiou is worried scammers will use his business to get credit

A chip shop owner from Lincoln fears he will lose money after a scammer cloned the name of his company.

Des Anastasiou, who runs Burton Road Chippy, said he was alerted when he started receiving letters adressed to a business with a similar name.

Restaurants owned by some of the UK's best-known chefs, including Heston Blumenthal, have been cloned as part of an emerging identity theft scam in recent weeks.

Companies House, which registers UK limited companies, said it was investigating.

'Are they fake?'

Mr Anastasiou's business was registered at companies house in 2014 as Burton Road Chippy Limited.

However, on 26 January this year, Burton Road Chippy Restaurant Limited became registered at Mr Anastasiou's business address with the name of a woman from Leeds as company director.

Since then, Mr Anastasiou's chip shop has received letters, seen by the BBC, from banks including Monzo, as well as HM Revenue and Customs.

Mr Anastasiou said: "I was worried. I'm still worried. What are they trying to achieve? My hands are shaking.

"Companies House should do more checks. Are they fake?

"Maybe they can open bank accounts... some of the letters were from banks."

Bijan Keshmiri at Cafe Zoot fears his property will be blacklisted

Several other businesses in Lincoln have told the BBC about the scam, including Cafe Zoot.

Landlord Bijan Keshmiri said: "This business is sitting here for 20 years.

"I'm scared what these people can do. Companies house has got no power.

"My main worry is my suppliers who may think twice now, are we the right person?

"I don't want my property to become blacklisted." Mr Keshmiri said.

Data seen by the BBC showed more than 750 fake firms had been registered, often with misspelled names, since the start of 2024.

The BBC has been given the first detailed data revealing the scam - which is causing a major headache for individuals and businesses - by fraud expert Graham Barrow.

He said Companies House, the UK's central registry of companies, was "not fit for purpose" and should carry out more checks.

For only a small sum, scammers can register a business online with Companies House, usually within 24 hours.

After that, according to fraud experts, they are then able to steal overdraft money from bank accounts set up in the name of the fake company they have cloned, and order high-value goods.

A Companies House spokesperson said: “We are looking into these cases and are unable to comment further at this time.

“From March, we will have greater powers to query and remove fraudulent information from the companies register.

“In the longer term we will be requiring company directors and people who file information to verify their identity to ensure they are who they say they are."