Fraudsters prey on Charity Commission

THE Charity Commission has warned the public not to be duped by fake charitable trusts bearing the name of a senior executive after it became the victim of identity theft.

Sarah Atkinson, the organisation’s director of policy, planning and communications, said she had been contacted by several people overseas who had been sent paperwork allegedly carrying her name and signature.

The potential victims, who are sometimes charities themselves seeking funding, are contacted out of the blue and offered money from a charitable trust.

Ms Atkinson said it is not clear whether the fraudsters will then attempt to extract cash for bogus administrative fees or seek to gain personal information on the target for use in future scams.

The commission has been told of half a dozen cases in the past year but fears there could be many more as those who fall victim are not likely to come forward. The targets are commonly based in the US but the most recent case was reported in Germany last month. In one case, a Christian charitable mission in America was contacted by a trust purportedly based in the UK offering a “donation” of £2.8million.

The alleged trustee had included a confirmation form supposedly authorised and signed by Ms Atkinson.

Ms Atkinson said: “These people are trying to play on people’s charitable goodwill. It’s quite heartbreaking and it worries us deeply that people will take these things in good faith and lose their money.”

She added: “For me personally, my name being used to defraud people is really upsetting. My job is to protect charities, not to enable them to be defrauded.”

The Charity Commission is responsible for registering and regulating charities in England and Wales. If the Commission registers an organisation it will be given a registered charity number, which can be checked by visiting on its website.