A group of advice charities have launched a summer campaign to highlight a threat posed by “imposter firms” that they say are trying to cash in on their names.
StepChange, Citizens Advice and the Money Advice Trust are concerned that rogue companies are running copycat advertisements online that look very similar to their own official charity messages (see picture, right).
Some of these firms are so-called lead generators, which gather names and addresses of people seeking help with their debts, the three charities said.
These details can then be sold on to third-party companies that take fees and make profits from arranging debt repayment plans such as individual voluntary arrangements.
IVAs can be suitable under certain circumstances but, if missold, can be harmful to someone’s finances if they fail, according to StepChange.
This week, the debt advice charity StepChange warned: “StepChange is currently experiencing problems with imposter firms, who pass themselves off as the charity in online adverts.”
It asked anyone who is directing advice-seekers to its services to contact the charity directly via its website.
The campaign has involved sponsored posts on Facebook and Instagram as well as informative TikToks.
StepChange told Third Sector: “Impersonator firms are trying to use the StepChange trademark/brand to prey on people seeking debt advice.
“We have people on hand who are reporting any debt advice scams to Google to remove them from the search engine and close them down. There is a ‘three strikes and out’ policy with Google adverts and some are repeat offenders.”
It has complained over one sponsored online advertisement for a private company that used the headline ‘StepChange – Change Your Debts’. The company, based in Warrington, Cheshire, is identified as www.changedebtsupport.com. Third Sector has contacted the company for comment.
These issues have been brought to the attention of the Financial Conduct Authority, according to StepChange, and the regulator has brought in changes banning so-called debt packagers, which would refer people to insolvency practitioners in return for a fee.
The charity said the issue had been raised with Google, which has since updated its ad policies to crack down on bad practices.
Richard Lane, director of external affairs at StepChange, said: “Ads offering to ‘write off up to 90 per cent of your debt’ or ads specifically targeting certain demographics such as ‘help for women in debt’ are common, but aren’t always what they seem.
“They tend to be run by lead generators, who collect individuals’ personal details in order to sell them onto a commercial firm for a fee. This can lead to someone being sold a debt solution that might not be appropriate for them, and may worsen their finances in the long run.”
Jane Tully, director of external affairs and partnerships at the Money Advice Trust, which runs the National Debtline and Business Debtline advice services, said: “Too often we see examples of misleading adverts targeting people in financial difficulty, in some cases posing as free debt advice providers.
“The firms behind these often push people towards debt options that may not be suitable for their circumstances.”