Fraud Protection

Fraud Protection is a monitoring service that sends instant email alerts whenever unauthorised or unusual changes are made to your company’s records at Companies House. It is designed to help directors and company owners detect suspicious activity early, giving them time to respond before any damage escalates.

What is the Fraud Protection service?

The Fraud Protection service from Form My Company is an ongoing monitoring solution for UK limited companies and other corporate entities registered at Companies House. Rather than waiting for your annual confirmation statement or discovering changes months later, this service keeps you informed in near real time about key updates to your company file.

Company fraud in the UK often involves unauthorised changes to directorships, registered office addresses, or people with significant control (PSC) details. Fraudsters may attempt to take control of a company by filing false documents, changing the registered address to hide correspondence, or appointing themselves as directors. The Fraud Protection service is built to flag these types of events as soon as they appear on the public register, so you can act quickly.

This service is particularly valuable for directors who do not check Companies House regularly, for companies with multiple directors or shareholders, and for businesses that have previously been targeted by identity fraud or corporate impersonation. It complements other compliance obligations, such as filing confirmation statements and maintaining accurate PSC registers, by adding an extra layer of oversight.

What’s included in Fraud Protection

Instant email alerts for unauthorised Companies House changes

The core of the Fraud Protection service is its instant email alert system. Whenever a filing is made at Companies House that alters your company’s core details, you receive an email notification. This includes changes to director appointments or resignations, changes to the registered office address, updates to PSC information, and other key filings that affect the legal identity of your company.

These alerts are designed to help you spot unauthorised or unexpected changes as soon as they are publicly recorded. For example, if someone attempts to appoint themselves as a director without your knowledge, or if your registered office address is changed to a location you do not recognise, you will be notified by email. This early warning can be critical in preventing further fraudulent filings, such as attempts to open bank accounts, obtain credit, or sell assets in your company’s name.

Notifications for directorship and registered address updates

Director and registered address details are among the most frequently targeted elements in company fraud. The Fraud Protection service sends specific notifications whenever there is an update to:

• Director appointments or resignations

• Director details such as name or address (where visible on the public register)

• The company’s registered office address

Because the registered office address is the official address for all statutory correspondence, any unauthorised change can mean you stop receiving important letters from Companies House, HMRC, or other authorities. Similarly, unauthorised changes to directorships can affect who is legally allowed to act for the company, sign contracts, or access bank accounts.

By receiving separate, clear notifications for these changes, you can quickly verify whether they were made with your consent. If not, you can contact Companies House immediately to report the issue and begin the process of correcting the register.

Alerts for unusual activity affecting your company

In addition to standard changes, the Fraud Protection service monitors for patterns that may indicate unusual or suspicious activity. While not every alert will mean fraud has occurred, certain combinations of filings can be red flags. Examples include:

• Multiple director changes in a short period

• Rapid changes to the registered office address

• New PSC entries appearing without your knowledge

• Filings that do not match your company’s normal pattern of activity

These alerts help you identify potential issues that might otherwise go unnoticed until a more serious problem arises, such as a bounced payment, a legal letter about a company you thought was dormant, or a credit check revealing unexpected liabilities.

If you see activity that does not match your company’s records or your own instructions, you can investigate further and, if necessary, report suspected fraud to Companies House and other relevant authorities.

Stay informed about changes to your company records

The Fraud Protection service effectively acts as an ongoing watch on your company’s public record at Companies House. Instead of having to manually check the register or wait for your next confirmation statement, you are kept informed automatically.

This is particularly helpful for:

• Directors who manage several companies and cannot monitor each one daily

• Business owners who delegate filings to accountants or third parties but want independent oversight

• Companies that have been dormant or low-activity but are at risk of being misused by fraudsters

Staying informed about changes to your company records also supports good corporate governance. It ensures that the information held at Companies House remains accurate and up to date, which is important for banks, suppliers, customers, and regulators who rely on the public register.

Added protection against potential company fraud

While no service can guarantee that fraud will never occur, Fraud Protection adds a meaningful layer of defence against common types of company fraud in the UK. By alerting you quickly to unauthorised changes, it reduces the window of opportunity for fraudsters to exploit your company’s identity.

This is especially important in the context of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), which has given Companies House new powers and responsibilities to combat fraud and improve the accuracy of the register. Identity verification for directors and PSCs is now a legal requirement, and Companies House is increasingly focused on detecting and preventing fraudulent filings.

The Fraud Protection service aligns with this broader push towards greater transparency and security. It helps you meet your own responsibilities as a director to keep company information accurate, while also giving you tools to detect and respond to misuse of your company’s identity. More information on identity verification obligations can be found on the gov.uk guidance on verifying your identity for Companies House.

Pricing breakdown

The Fraud Protection service is priced as a standalone add-on to your existing company formation or company services package. The service fee is separate from any statutory fees payable to Companies House.

• Fraud Protection service fee: £100

• Statutory Companies House fee: £100

Total cost: £200

This total reflects the cost of setting up and maintaining the fraud monitoring service, alongside the statutory fee associated with registering or updating relevant protections at Companies House. Prices are subject to change, and you should confirm the current fee structure at the time of purchase. For the latest official fees and charges, you can refer to the Companies House fees page on gov.uk.

Staying compliant and next steps

Using Fraud Protection does not replace your legal duties as a director or company officer, but it does support compliance in several ways. You remain responsible for ensuring that all information filed at Companies House is accurate and that any changes are properly authorised. The service simply gives you faster visibility when changes occur.

To stay fully compliant while using Fraud Protection, you should:

• Review each email alert as soon as you receive it

• Cross-check the details against your own records and any instructions you have given to accountants, company secretaries, or formation agents

• Report any unauthorised or suspicious changes to Companies House immediately using their official contact channels

• Keep your own internal registers (such as your PSC register and director register) up to date and consistent with the public record

If you are unsure whether a change is legitimate, or if you need help correcting the register, you may also wish to consider additional services such as Company Secretarial or Supplementary Company Documents to ensure your internal records match the official filings. For more on how Companies House is approaching fraud and identity verification, see their counter fraud strategy 2025 to 2028.

Who is Fraud Protection for?

Fraud Protection is suitable for almost any UK-registered company that wants an extra layer of security around its public records. It is particularly useful for:

• Directors of active trading companies who want to protect their business identity from misuse

• Owners of dormant or non-trading companies that could be targeted for fraud precisely because they are less closely monitored

• Companies with multiple directors or shareholders, where communication gaps could allow unauthorised filings to go unnoticed

• Businesses that have previously experienced attempted fraud, identity theft, or corporate impersonation

• Directors who use third parties (such as accountants or company secretaries) to file documents and want independent oversight

If you are forming a new company and are concerned about protecting it from the outset, you can add Fraud Protection to packages such as the Private limited (Ltd) Company or Fully Inclusive Package. For companies already in existence, it can be added alongside services like File a Confirmation Statement or Identity Verification Service: Director or PSC.

What happens after you buy Fraud Protection

Once you purchase the Fraud Protection service, the following steps typically occur:

1. Service setup: Form My Company registers your company for fraud monitoring and configures the alert system based on the details you provide.

2. Confirmation email: You receive a confirmation email outlining what is being monitored and the email address(es) that will receive alerts.

3. Ongoing monitoring: Companies House filings relating to your company are monitored on an ongoing basis.

4. Alerts sent: When a relevant change is detected, an instant email alert is sent to you with details of the filing.

5. Your response: You review the alert, confirm whether the change was authorised, and take action if necessary (such as contacting Companies House or seeking professional advice).

You do not need to log in to a separate portal to check for updates; the service is designed to push notifications to you automatically. However, you should ensure that the email address on file is one you check regularly and that your spam filters do not block messages from Companies House or Form My Company.

Why choose Form My Company

Form My Company specialises in UK company formation and ongoing company services, with a focus on clarity, compliance, and practical support for directors and business owners. The Fraud Protection service is designed to integrate smoothly with your existing company structure and other services you may use, such as Company Services, Director Appointment, or PSC Register.

Key reasons to choose Form My Company for Fraud Protection include:

• Clear, straightforward alerts: Notifications are designed to be easy to understand, highlighting exactly what has changed and when.

• Focus on high-risk changes: The service prioritises the types of filings most commonly associated with fraud, such as director and address changes.

• Integration with other services: Fraud Protection can be combined with identity verification, company secretarial support, and document services for a more comprehensive approach to compliance and security.

• UK-based expertise: The team understands the UK regulatory environment, including the implications of ECCTA and Companies House’s evolving counter-fraud strategy.

If you are already using Form My Company for company formation or ongoing compliance, adding Fraud Protection can give you additional peace of mind without complicating your existing arrangements. For more general guidance on protecting your company from scams, you can also refer to the gov.uk guidance on reporting scams pretending to be from Companies House.