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Restaurants owned by culinary giants like Heston Blumenthal have become targets in an emerging identity theft scam which sees crime gangs ‘clone’ the dining spots before opening up bank accounts and applying for loans.
Companies House has confirmed that an investigation is under way after 750 identikit firms, with subtly misspelled names, were registered in the last six weeks.
Restaurants, hotels and individuals which have been targeted so far include the Ritz, Zizzi and celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi.
Scammers set up a business online on Companies House, often in the same location as an existing operation with subtly misspelled names. They then steal overdraft money from bank accounts they set up for the fake company.
The emergence of the new scam has led to calls for reform into the way business in the UK are registered with one fraud expert describing Companies House as ‘not fit for purpose.’
Restaurants owned by culinary giants like Heston Blumenthal have become targets in an emerging identity theft scam (pictured)
Restaurants, hotels and individuals which have been targeted so far include the Ritz, Zizzi and celebrity chef Yotam Ottolenghi (pictured)
Speaking to the BBC, fraud analyser graham Barrow explained that glaring issues in Companies House’s checks mean there is currently no way to stop the scam.
He explained: ‘There’s been this rise of identity theft, and the requirement for all of us to provide bills, passports or a driving licence, even if you want to get a library ticket from your local council.
‘Companies House requires none of that.’
Mr Barrow went on to describe how the situation was ‘scandalous’ with knock on effects of the scam costing banks ‘hundreds of millions.’
In many cases, restaurants are cloned by registering companies that sound like they’re an association of well known brands and people.
In one case, a fake Zizzi in Cambridge was registered as ‘Zizzi – Caambridge’ – with an extra ‘a’ added to divert attention.
Heston Blumethal was also targeted in this way, with the registration of ‘Dinner By Heston Blumenthall’ complete with an extra ‘l’.
Yotam Ottolenghi’s firm has vowed to take ‘robust action’ against impersonators after a business named Ottolenghii Limited was created.
Amazingly, even the Ritz has been targeted with the completely illegitimate Ritz Restaurant Limited set up in December last year.
Michelin-starred chef Alexis Gauthier was also stunned to see that his own company ‘APJ Gauthier Limited’ had been cloned as ‘Gauthier Soho Restaurant Limited’ – a name the chef begrudgingly admits is better.
Amazingly, even the Ritz has been targeted with the completely illegitimate Ritz Restaurant Limited set up in December last year
He told the BBC: ‘What was really surprising is they managed to create this company at the same address as my restaurant. It’s hard enough for us independent restaurants in central London to day in, day out, do the best we can do.
‘We don’t really need this on top of everything else we have to deal with.’
It’s thought that any changes to the way UK business registrations are handled could take 18 months to implement.
A spokesman for Companies House said: ‘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,” a spokesperson said.
‘These changes will enable us to crack down on the use of false addresses and other misuse of the register.’
