Real records can be copied
Company numbers, addresses, staff names and regulatory details can be reproduced inside a false website, advert or document.
Technology, platforms and channels
Is this company, person or account genuine?
A company can exist, a person can be real and an account can display accurate details while the contact is still unauthorised or deceptive. Verify existence, identity, authority, purpose and route as separate questions.
Page P-002Guidance pageReviewed 29 August 2026
Key Guidance
Do not rely on a name, logo, registration, profile, verified badge or personal detail. Find the organisation or person independently and ask whether they made this exact request through this exact account or channel.
Start with Key Guidance for the short answer. Then read the sections that match what happened and what you need to do.
Guided route 1
Something I found or received worries me
Current position: Step 3 of 4 — Check the identity and authority. Read the guides in the order shown.
Understand the issue
Why this matters to you
Search results often confirm that something exists. They do not confirm that the person contacting you controls it, represents it or is authorised to make the current request.
Accounts can be imitated or compromised
A near-identical username may be false, while a genuine account can be taken over and used by someone else.
Authority can be narrower than identity
A real employee, introducer or adviser may not be authorised to request money, documents or account access.
Search placement is not approval
An advert, profile or prominent result does not mean the platform or search engine has endorsed the claim.
Consequences and movement
What may happen next
Build the verification from independent sources, then reconnect it to the specific contact and request.
Confirm existence
Use the appropriate official register or the organisation’s independently found website to confirm that the entity exists.
Confirm control
Check whether the domain, email, phone number or account is published by that entity—not merely whether the name matches.
Confirm authority
Ask the organisation whether the named person and current instruction are authorised.
Confirm the route
Compare payment, document and communication details with a known source before completing the request.
Practical response
What you should do
Use more than one independent connection point. A false contact can often supply its own convincing register link, reference and callback number.
- Leave the supplied search pathOpen the official register or organisation site yourself instead of using links supplied by the contact.
- Match exact detailsCheck spelling, legal name, domain, address, permissions and contact details, not only the logo or trading name.
- Call a published numberUse a number from the official site, regulator or prior trusted record and ask about the exact person and request.
- Verify professional permissionsWhere regulated activity is involved, confirm the firm, individual, permissions and contact details on the relevant regulator’s register.
- Reject a changed destinationDo not send money or documents to new details until the genuine organisation confirms the change independently.
- Act on any exposureContact the bank, secure accounts and protect identity documents if the false contact already received value.
Look more closely
A genuine identity can be copied or misused
Correct names, photographs, registration details and account history may belong to a real person or organisation. They do not prove that the present contact controls that identity or has authority to make the request.
A search result, advert, referral, profile or direct approach creates contact.
Trust in the known name or apparent opportunity encourages engagement.
Real records, sign-in details, branding and staff details support the claimed identity.
The contact keeps every check inside accounts, numbers and links it controls.
An independently selected route reconnects the claim to the genuine entity.
Selected history
Historical cases and lasting lessons
Clone firms
Fraudsters copy the name and details of authorised firms while changing contact information and payment routes.
Lasting lesson: A register match is incomplete until its published contact details are used.
Compromised trusted accounts
Genuine email or social accounts may be used to approach existing contacts after access is stolen.
Lasting lesson: A familiar account supports identity, but a changed request still needs verification outside that account.
Transferable understanding
Patterns over time
Existence is mistaken for endorsement
Finding a company or person online can feel like confirmation of every claim attached to that identity.
The false route explains away discrepancies
The contact may describe a new account, domain or payment destination as a branch, agent or security measure.
Multiple false sources can agree
A website, social profile and document may all be controlled by the same actor and repeat the same invented story.
Specific verification defeats broad reassurance
Ask whether this exact request came from this exact authorised person, not whether the organisation has heard of the name.
Plain-language answers
Common questions
Does a company registration prove the offer is genuine?
No. Registration proves a legal record exists. It does not authenticate the contact, offer or payment route.
Does a verified badge prove the account is safe?
No. Badge meanings vary, accounts can be compromised and verification does not approve every claim.
What if the person has a real professional profile?
Contact the organisation independently and ask whether that person made the request through the account you received it from.
Can I trust a callback from the same number?
A return call can remain inside the false route. Use an independently published number or a contact you already know.
Report impersonation to both the genuine entity and the relevant service
The genuine organisation can warn others and confirm the false route. Also report the account, advert, domain or message to the platform and report any loss promptly.
Scamology Insights
Separate identity, authority and control
These learning resources can help you see when someone uses a real name or organisation but controls the contact details and destination. Links are intentionally withheld in this production version.
Guided route 1 · Step 3 of 4
Continue your route
The next guide follows directly from this one.
Continue understanding
Explore related guidance
Evidence and currency