Footballers, parents, clubs and agents are warned by the Football Association (FA) about an increase in reports to relating to a “trial scam”.
Fraudsters purporting to be licensed agents and football club employees are sending out letters and spam emails promising trials with various clubs. The FA says that the football clubs and agents whose names have been used have nothing to do with the scam.
The scam works by promising trials to young players with various clubs and asks for an advance payment to cover “insurance and travel”. The money is usually requested via services like Western Union.
The FA said on its website “If you have any doubts about any correspondence received purporting to come from a club or agent you should contact The FA Financial Regulation team for advice.”
“All FA-licensed agents should ensure that they have their correct and full contact details listed on FIFA.com to prevent their names being used in the scam.”
And meanwhile the Action Fraud call centre has received reports of fraudsters who are cold-calling potential victims claiming there is an arrest warrant out in their name and are pressuring them to pay a “debt”.
Victims are usually told to pay the debt using Ukash vouchers. In reality debt collection agencies will never ask to be paid using this method. People should treat Ukash payments as if they were cash transactions.
Although there are some variations the fraudsters are calling themselves “Baker and Allen” and in some cases have been claiming to be from the “Action Fraud Department”. Action Fraud says it’s in no way affiliated with these scammers.
