The fresh produce industry should be on alert as email scammers are attempting to steal importers’ identities.
Lincolnshire importer Davis Worldwide narrowly escaped falling victim to the company identity theft scam this week, when one of its French suppliers received an email, apparently from Davis, placing an order for a lorry of on-the-vine tomatoes.
Md Peter Davis told freshinfo: “We only found out because our supplier rang to ask why we were buying a product we didn’t usually order. The scammers had copied our name, registered office address, VAT registration number - the lot.”
Davis has since found out that suppliers in Italy, Turkey and Morocco have also been contacted in its name and that it is not the only importer targeted, in what appears to be a multi-million pound global scam.
The email address used by the scammers in the instance of Davis was an @london.com address, which according to researchers of such scams is one often used by fraudsters. The incident has been reported to Lincolnshire Police and to the Fresh Produce Consortium (FPC).
Nigel Jenney, ceo of the FPC, said: “We would like to be advised by any member if they have experienced such incidents. They should contact the relevant authorities immediately... It is a matter of raising awareness to protect brand and company reputations and identities.”
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