After a series of scam telephone calls to registered charities, the Charity Commission has urged caution.

The Charity Commission has been made aware of a scam involving people being telephoned by individuals claiming to represent the Charity Commission. In the phone calls these individuals claim to be from the "debt collection department" of the Commission and they demand payments for various services and advertisements.

Some of the bogus calls have demanded payments of thousands of pounds for various services and advertisements. The Commission has been contacted by a number of people who have received calls of this nature and has already reported this matter to the police.

Please remember that:

• Any call from someone claiming to work with or on behalf of the Charity Commission, and claiming any payment in a threatening way, is clearly bogus
• The Charity Commission does not charge for any of its services to charities; it does not get involved in debt collection either directly or through contracting third parties to do so, and nor does it collect debt on behalf of charities

You should immediately report these sorts of incidents to the police, and the Charity Commission would also like to be informed where its name is being used for suspected fraudulent purposes.

How to be sure calls from the Charity Commission are genuine

• When you speak to any member of staff from the Commission they will always be prepared to give their name, telephone number and email address
• Commission email addresses always end with the domain name “@charitycommission.gsi.gov.uk”
• Check the number of any suspect caller against the direct dial telephone codes for Commission offices. These are: London (0207 674…); Liverpool (0151 703…); Taunton (01823 345…); and Newport (01633 2255…).

Contact the Charity Commission

Call the contact centre on 0845 300 0218. Lines are open from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except national holidays.