BBC One's Countryfile has uncovered a sophisticated fraud ring that steals the identities of farmers and food producers to scam suppliers. The investigation, part of BBC Scam Safe Week, reveals how criminals pose as legitimate buyers to steal goods worth thousands of pounds.
In October 2024, fraudsters impersonating a distributor for a major French supermarket chain tricked a London wholesaler into supplying £300,000 worth of cheddar. The National Food Crime Unit has reported an increase in such scams, with criminals targeting everything from cheese to vegetables, poultry, fish and meat.
Professor Chris Elliott from Queen's University Belfast, who led the horsemeat scandal review, told Countryfile: “Somebody will contact you, try to buy something from you, will claim to be a proper company, but they're setting out to basically steal your goods from you. This is very, very well organised. This is criminal networks, and it cuts across international borders.” He warned that stolen food re-enters the market without traceability or hygiene guarantees.
Stephen and Catherine Temple, who run a cheese-making dairy in Norfolk, are among three farming families whose identities were stolen. Stephen received calls asking if he had ordered pallets of fish, cheese and vegetables. Catherine said: “It was really distressing to have to give that sort of bad news to people when you'd worked out what was happening.”
Potato grower David Park from Northumberland nearly lost a lorry-load of potatoes worth £11,000. The scammers changed the delivery address en route to an industrial estate, but Park retrieved most of the load. He still lost thousands of pounds.
Professor Elliott advises businesses to watch for red flags: unsolicited contact, offers that seem too good to be true, urgency, and suspicious contact details. He recommends verifying orders by contacting the company directly.
