Businesses are being urged to remain alert after Companies House and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) issued a joint warning about unsolicited payment requests and misleading invoices being sent to UK companies.

According to the government announcement, some businesses are receiving letters and emails that appear official and request payment for services connected with Companies House filings or intellectual property registrations. In many cases, the organisations sending these requests are not connected with government and may be charging inflated fees for services that are either available directly from official sources at a much lower cost or free of charge altogether.

Newly incorporated businesses and companies filing intellectual property applications can be particularly vulnerable because their details are publicly available and may be targeted by third parties seeking to imitate official correspondence.

The warning highlights that some requests are designed to look convincing, using official sounding names, formal layouts and references to statutory obligations or deadlines. Business owners may therefore assume that payment is mandatory when, in reality, the request relates to an optional third-party service.

Companies House and the IPO are advising businesses to carefully check all payment requests before making payment and to verify whether correspondence genuinely originates from an official government source.

Warning signs can include:

� requests for unusually high fees,

� payment demands shortly after incorporation or trademark applications,

� vague descriptions of services,

� unofficial bank details,

� pressure to pay quickly,

� and correspondence from organisations with names similar to government bodies.

Businesses should also remember that official Companies House fees and IPO fees can normally be verified directly through GOV.UK websites.

The warning serves as a timely reminder that fraud attempts against UK businesses continue to evolve, particularly where publicly available company information can be used to create apparently credible requests for payment.

Business owners may wish to ensure that staff responsible for accounts payable or company administration understand the risk of misleading invoices and know how to verify requests before payment is authorised.

Simple internal controls, such as confirming new suppliers independently, checking website domains carefully and reviewing unusual invoices with advisers before payment, may help reduce exposure to this type of scam.