A children’s health charity has warned it is suffering “serious reputational harm” due to sustained fraudulent activity carried out under its former name.
This comes after a large number of fake charity collection bags were found dumped in Suffolk, which claimed to be in support of Be Child Cancer Aware, now Beads of Courage UK.
But the charity does not operate clothing collections and said the bags were not genuine.
John Drummond, its chair and co-founder, said: “Any bags, collections or doorstep approaches made in our name, or our former name, are entirely fraudulent and should be reported to the police and Action Fraud immediately.”
Suffolk County Council said it found a large number of empty bags with the charity’s former name on them, which seemed to have been delivered through letterboxes to encourage residents to leave unwanted clothing and household items outside for collection.
Drummond said the charity was “deeply concerned” by the activity, which was “sadly not an isolated incident”.
He said: “We have been made aware of fraudulent activity carried out under both our former name, Be Child Cancer Aware, and our current name and branding, Beads of Courage UK.”
The charity changed its name to Beads of Courage UK before the Covid-19 pandemic to better reflect the widened breadth of its work, which had expanded to encompass multiple serious health conditions.
Drummond said the name change was not related to the fraudulent activity, but said the charity was “acutely aware that our identity continues to be exploited”.
He said: “This pattern of sustained misuse of our identity by criminal elements is causing serious reputational harm to a charity that exists solely to support seriously ill children and their families, and we urge the public to remain vigilant.
“As a family-founded charity we are deeply conscious of the concerns that doorstep collections can raise, both for the privacy of the public and the very real risk of our name and reputation being misused by fraudsters. Sadly, that concern has proven well-founded.”
Drummond urged anyone who receives a collection bag bearing either the charity’s current or former name to treat it as fraudulent and avoid filling it.
June Mummery, cabinet member for coastal affairs, communities and public health at Suffolk County Council, said: “These crooks appear to be cashing in on people’s kindness.
“They have used the name of a legitimate charity to make their collection bags look genuine and persuade residents to leave items outside – only for them to be stolen.
“Nobody wants their donation to end up in the hands of criminals. If you’re clearing out unwanted clothes or items, please use a charity shop, official collection point or trusted recycling service.”
Suffolk Police have been contacted for comment.