ID theft

This topic has 9 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 13 October 2025 at 08:47 by Nicholas Farr.

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12 October 2025 at 14:37 #819960
duncan webster 1
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@duncanwebster1
Our club is a Co-operative Society registered with the FCA, so we have to have a registered address which can be seen by searching the FCA website. The committee seems reluctant to use a member’s address because of ID theft. As long as the address used isn’t the same as the secretary’s home address I can’t see it’s an issue. Mr Fraudster can get an address at random by driving up the street, and just because I’m a member of the club, he can’t tie the 2 together.

Anyone got any views?

To get an anonymous address would cost us £12/month, and we only get one hard copy letter a year, everything else comes by email
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12 October 2025 at 16:10 #819964
Nigel Graham 2
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@nigelgraham2
The risk is not just of fraud but of property theft: I imagine the scum who can see who might have expensive hobbies is more likely to aim for their property to burgle.

Round-robin e-mail lists are not safe. One type of attacker who uses them is the sort who picks a name at random and pretends at others to be that person stranded in Paris.

Can you use an accommodation address without that costing even more?

I am in three societies that use “secretary[at]crochet-club-dot-org” type contacts; and members’ private e- and physical addresses are on the club web-site but behind a password changed yearly or whenever thought necessary.

Is that the form you say is £12/month? Perhaps £144 a year divided equally among all the members, on the subscription, would be a wise precaution despite the extra cost.
12 October 2025 at 18:55 #819978
Michael Gilligan
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@michaelgilligan61133
Duncan

I am relieved to say that I have never needed to be in your position with the FCA … but I did have a little dig-around just out of curiosity.

It only took me a few minutes to find the registered correspondence address.

… I would honestly think the cat has never been in the bag !

So why is it suddenly a matter of concern ?

MichaelG.

.

Edit: __ I have no intention of discussing it further in public, but please send me a P.M. if you need me to explain.
12 October 2025 at 19:36 #819988
Robert Atkinson 2
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@robertatkinson2
There is another possible issue with using someones personal address in this manner. If someone wins a claims court case or similar against the organisation they could have enforcement officers knocking on the door. While personal assets can’t be sold they can be held until proof of ownership is sorted out.
Does the society have an accountant? They will normally provide a registered address service for a modest fee. Common practice for small Limited companies.
12 October 2025 at 21:21 #820005
bernard towers
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@bernardtowers37738
sorry but all of you seem to think everybody else in the world is out to get you a bit paranoid dont you think, your more likely to get run over by a bus.
12 October 2025 at 21:49 #820008
SillyOldDuffer
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@sillyoldduffer
On 12 October 2025 at 21:21 bernard towers Said:

sorry but all of you seem to think everybody else in the world is out to get you a bit paranoid dont you think, your more likely to get run over by a bus.

If only! Cybercrime is estimated to cost the UK economy around £27 billion annually…

🙁

Dave
12 October 2025 at 23:25 #820017
Eric Olthwaite
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@ericolthwaite
Anyone’s address is already a matter of public record on things like the Electoral Registry and Land Registry. Their name is included in both of those too. So it seems unlikely fraudsters would bother with a random address from FCA with no name attached . They can get millions of those from Google Maps.

But as Nigel says, it’s possible burglars could target an address known to have expensive hobby equipment, locos etc in the workshop.

A PO box would give peace of mind.
12 October 2025 at 23:38 #820018
duncan webster 1
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@duncanwebster1
A PO box isn’t acceptable to the FCA. Latest idea is to just fix a post box to the gate to our site. Just need to ask the postman if they would deliver to it. It would only get checked when someone remembered, but as I said it’s only the FCA who ever write to us. I take the very good point that using a member’s address advertises that they might have stuff worth pinching

I think you can tick a box to make your entry on the electoral register not publicly available, might be wrong
13 October 2025 at 06:23 #820020
Eric Olthwaite
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@ericolthwaite
Yes I believe you can opt to remove your address from the electoral register but few bother. Likewise telephone directories etc.

Still, I should think the chances are slim of burglars trawling the FCA records to find an anonymous mailing address for a model club and then breaking in to that address on the off chance of nicking a few tools and or a very specialised loco that could only be sold to a very specialised buyer, or a scrap merchant.

It would be far easier for burglars to discreetly follow members home from a steaming day at the club track, after seeing what valuable loco they load into their vehicle. But how many members circle the block and check their mirrors to see if they are being followed? Exactly none would be my guess.

Mailbox at the club premises seems a good idea, provided it is kept locked to stop the credit card thieves etc from emptying it.

And so it goes on. What a world we live in.
13 October 2025 at 08:47 #820031
Nicholas Farr
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@nicholasfarr14254
Hi, yes you can have your electoral register not available to the public, mine has been private for years. My telephone number has also not appeared in a telephone directory for years either.

Regards Nick.
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