Bogus website asks registration fee to jump Tower Hamlets housing waiting list
'Queue jump' scam circulating Tower Hamlets housing estates - Credit: Archant
Tricksters are running a scam to get tenants in overcrowded council housing to cough up cash to jump the waiting queue for better properties in London’s deprived East End.
Scam flyers are circulating around Tower Hamlets housing estates dropped through letter boxes.
Now Town Hall officials are warning families about the scam where tenants are asked to pay a £29.99 online “registration fee” on a bogus website claiming to help them move out of overcrowded properties.
Tower Hamlets Mayor John Biggs appeals to families through the East London Advertiser this Thursday to be vigilant and to warn any vulnerable neighbours.
“We are working with the police to track down those running this scam,” he tells the paper.
You may also want to watch:
“These fraudsters seek to fleece families out of money they can’t afford and raise hopes of those in difficult circumstances.”
The flyers show a web address which has “oa” added to the name Tower Hamlets.
Most Read
- 1 Teenager found dead in Victoria Park
- 2 Driver arrested after police 'drugs patrol' stops car in Whitechapel
- 3 Two in five people in Tower Hamlets may have had Covid-19
- 4 Students in rent strike over Queen Mary's campus staying open during Covid emergency
- 5 'Laptop bonanza' for schoolchildren in Poplar to help survive lockdown gloom
- 6 Leyton Orient sign Dan Kemp on a permanent deal from West Ham United
- 7 Drug and alcohol abuse by Tower Hamlets parents and children soars
- 8 That's so raven: Everything you need to know about the guardians of the Tower
- 9 Post deliveries in east London hit by Covid crisis among Royal Mail staff
- 10 Gun seized after woman tells police she was threatened in Whitechapel
The suspects distributing the flyers claim to be “acting on behalf of the council” when they are approached—but are not.
The source of the internet scam is a bogus website called “Tower Hamlets Over Crowding Aid”.
There are spelling mistakes including the word overcrowded which is written as “OverCowded” on the website home page.
But it also displays photos of housing estates to make it seem authentic and uses details of addresses for genuine council offices to confuse people into believing it is genuine.
But worst is that it fraudulently asks for bank payment details and personal information which Town Hall officials fear could lead to further fraud in the future.
The council’s Trading Standards office has identified the apparent owner of the website and has called in the police.
The authority would never ask payment for an application for housing or to move to a larger home, it points out.
Anyone receiving a scam leaflet is being urged to contact Trading Standards on 020-7364 5008 or email trading.standards@towerhamlets.gov.uk