Fraud Alert

We have received a report of someone calling a school claiming to be from Kent Police with regard to their anti-bullying campaign.

It transpired that it was not the police, but a publication company trying to sell advertising in a magazine they produce called ‘On-Call’. An attempt was made to try and invoice the school.

Sales people like this can start in a charming manner, moving to insistent and finally become intimidating. Some companies have argued that schools have entered into contracts on the vaguest of reasons. For example, agreeing to a free sample to get the sales person off the phone; or, failing to send a cancellation email as required by a clause hidden deep within the sales text.

Schools are advised to exercise caution when dealing with ‘cold calling’ telephone calls and emails. All staff should be aware of the risks, particularly of agreeing to something based purely on a phone call or email.

Kent County Council Internal Audit must be notified of all financial irregularities affecting maintained schools. You can report irregularities or seek advice by emailing:

• Paul Rock, Counter Fraud Manager at Paul.Rock@kent.gov.uk
• Duncan Warmington, Principal Auditor (Counter Fraud) at Duncan.Warmington@kent.gov.uk
• Shelley Etherton, Auditor (Counter Fraud) at Shelley.Etherton@kent.gov.uk