'Please don't use the website' - Warning to customers as Halesowen toy shop owner becomes scam victim
A Halesowen shop owner who is an apparent victim of business fraud is warning the public and potential customers not to use a website set up in his name.
Jonathan Hughes set up Nevaland Toys, on Stourbridge Road next to Halesowen Town FC in November last year after working 15 years as a retail manager and has been very successful in establishing a 'treasure trove' mix of retro and modern toys which he prides on providing items for adults and children.
But recently his trade name, a picture of the store and telephone number have been cloned fraudulently from his Google business account and appeared on a website which looks genuine but which he has not set up himself.
Jonathan said he only uses other methods of social media to trade such as E-bay, Facebook, Tiktok and Instagram and never takes money online - he keeps items that people want to one side and they come in and purchase them.
He says anyone using this site will never see any goods and may also have their bank details compromised - he has been in touch with Report Fraud (formerly Action Fraud), HMRC, Shopify and Companies House but says only now he has gone to the Express & Star and posted his plight on Facebook, is anything happening.
He said: "The main message is do not send the people who have set this website up any money - everything about it looks genuine including the toys until you dig further into it - for example there are over 1,000 reviews at the bottom, all by someone called Cathrine.
"The bank details are not of my business account so anyone ordering products will either see their money go without them receiving anything or even if they do receive the goods they won't be genuine.
"I have worked hard to build this shop up and provide something for everyone, young and old so families can come here as there is enough internet activity in society and we love to see people here.
"I think the matter is finally at hand having been bounced around between the authorities and hopefully it will be taken down but in the meantime I would again urge people to ignore it and certainly not order from it."
A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: "We received a report of fraud after a website was set up claiming to be a toy shop business in Halesowen, Dudley.
"We have spoken to the victim and have referred him to Report Fraud who will investigate further, and once their investigation has been completed will refer their evidence back to the appropriate police force for any further action to be taken.
"We would ask anyone who may have been a victim of fraud in this case and made a purchase off this website to report it to us and Report Fraud so an investigation can be carried out.
"Call us on 101, quoting incident number 5889 of 19 January. You can also contact Report Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040."