Boss in scam warning

From the archive, first published Tuesday 12th Feb 2008.

A new internet phishing' scam is targeting the Bradford hospitality industry in a bid to sting businesses for thousands of pounds each.

The fraud was exposed by the owner of a Bradford bar and restaurant.

Parvez Iqbal, who runs the Love Apple restaurant and nightclub, said he wanted to highlight the scam to warn other businesses of its existence.

The premise of the con is relatively straightforward.

A business is contacted by an individual calling himself Dr Allan Brad, or in some cases Brad Allen.

He claims that he is, in the case of Mr Iqbal, a doctor at Trinity Clinic in London and is seeking to bring six foreign colleagues to Bradford for a conference.

He asks the restaurant whether it would be able to provide food for the group on four consecutive nights on which they would spend an estimated £80 per head, per night.

If the business responds enthusiastically to this request, the fraudster will then ask for bank details to send the money in advance. At that point the fraudster has the bank details of the restaurant and can raid the account.

Mr Iqbal said: "I received an e-mail purporting to be from a doctor in London who wanted to bring six colleagues here to eat for four nights. It was the kind of inquiry that would put a spring in the step of any family-owned business.

"It gave British mobile numbers for phone and fax contact and asked us to prepare a special vegetarian menu.

"The sender seemed aware that we specialise in that kind of dish."

However, a number of inconsistencies made Mr Iqbal suspicious - grammatical errors, prices quoted in euros and the fact that the e-mail address made no reference to the clinic the sender claimed to represent.

An internet search of the name Allan Brad' brought up dozens of references to a similar scam having been perpetrated in New Zealand, Scotland and elsewhere.

Mr Iqbal said: "This would appear to suggest that Bradford is now being targeted in the same way.

"Much as we enjoy competing with our friends in the trade I would hate to see a Bradford business fall victim to this.

"It would be lovely to rise to the challenge of producing an £80-a-head veggie menu but, as in this case, if it looks too good to be true it generally is."

David Lodge, divisional manager at West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: "This is yet another example which demonstrates the extent to which conmen are operating scams to make money.

"People need to be on their guard and should be suspicious of anything that appears out of the ordinary. Experience shows that very rarely do you get something for nothing and in the case of scams it will always end up costing you money.