A number of national companies have been targeted by fraudsters making fraudulent enquiries and applications for COVID-19 Retail, Hospitality and Leisure grants. The fraudsters are sending what appear to be legitimate requests for property details, reference numbers and extended retail discounts. The names used in the emails are either unknown to the businesses or legitimate (current/retired) employees added to fake email domains. All domains appear to have been registered in April and May 2020. If your organisation has responded to the scam emails, please apply appropriate scrutiny to new applications. Members confirm the number of businesses targeted is growing and this alert provides an update to those already shared.

The list to date with sender details is attached https://mcusercontent.com/1d878738784f086ed8b30a1ea/files/9bd8e71e-5197-4d0f-93dd-7171c57aeee8/COVID_19_Business_Grant_Scam_Emails_Update_28052020.pdf