If you’re a freelancer or umbrella company contractor, the Government has a warning for you: be on the lookout for copycat websites.
Apparently what’s been happening lately is that there are websites popping up all over the internet that look like bona fide Government sites at first glance but actually turn out to be a cleverly designed ruse to part you from your money. The number of victims of these copycat websites has been on the rise, and the Government has become concerned enough to throw an additional £120,000 in funds the way of Trading Standards in order to root out these impostors before they abscond with any more of our hard-earned money.
These misleading websites are a threat to all of us, but it seems that the most common victims have tended to be either the less aware or those that don’t have much experience in using websites to begin with such as the less technologically inclined amongst us. Freelancers and contract workers have been especially warned, ostensibly due to the fact that so many self-employed individuals work so hard and have so little time to themselves that they may not check too closely when it comes to doing routine business online, only to feel the sting of these rogue website operators as a result.
For what it’s worth, I’m quite chuffed to see that the Government is taking this threat so seriously. An extra £120,000 to go towards combating this menace is more than just a bit of pocket change after all, and I think that the desire on the part of the Government to safeguard the nation’s cadre of hard-working self-employed Brits is laudable. Now I’m not going to overlook that this is also an investment on the part of the Government to ensure that money ends up in Treasury coffers instead of the overseas bank account of some fraudster, but I’m feeling a bit lenient so I’m not really going to harp on this obvious ulterior motive. Besides, it’s a ‘win-win’ situation after all, and if the interim working community can benefit from being steered clear of these copycat websites who am I to argue about the Government collecting a few more pounds in fees?
