Beware fraudulent letters being sent out by scammers impersonating the Charity Commission (Commission).
The Legal and Constitutional Practice Team (LCP Team) wish to highlight the warning published by the Commission about fraudulent letters sent out on its behalf. As charity trustees, members of Local Church Councils, Circuit Meetings, District Synods and other Managing Trustee bodies need to be aware of the risk of fraud. Please read the Commission’s warning in full:
Charity regulator warns about fraudulent letters sent on its behalf
Previous fraudulent letters sent out to charity trustees have asked charity trustees to take action including:
- removing a trustee;
- releasing funds as part of a grant; and
- supplying documents e.g. passport or utility bills.
Key takeaways for Methodist charity trustees:
- If you receive any unsolicited correspondence which appears to be from the Commission, STOP and check whether it is genuine before providing any information or taking any action requested.
The Commission’s notice sets out red flags for checking if correspondence is fake and clarifies how to check that letters from them are genuine in the rare cases where these are sent out.
Note that if the Commission have your current email address, they will not contact you by post. Managing Trustees are encouraged to check and update their details with the Commission here.
- If in doubt (as to whether a request is genuinely from the Commission) please check with the Commission: Contact the Charity Commission
- Contact the Commission if you receive any suspicious letters so that they are aware as they continue to monitor the position with Action Fraud: Contact the Charity Commission
And while you are reading this article..
Take this opportunity to ensure that you are up to date with the duties placed on you as a charity trustee, including being aware of the risk of fraud. There is a lot of guidance on what it means to be a charity trustee and resources to help you fulfil your responsibilities on the Methodist Church website here and the Charity Commission itself: Charity Commission Guidance.
Key guidance on charity trustee duties includes:
- The Five Golden Rules of Being a Charity Trustee – produced by the LCP Team
- Charity trustee welcome pack - produced by the Charity Commission.
- 5-minute charity trustee guides - produced by the Charity Commission
- The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3) - produced by the Charity Commission.
The Methodist panel solicitors have previously provided training for groups of Methodist Managing Trustees on what it means to be a charity trustee and if you are interested in requesting such training face to face or online, please contact TMCP and we can help arrange this for you.
If you have any queries in relation to the guidance in this document please contact the Legal and Constitutional Practice Team (LCP) on lcp@methodistchurch.org.uk