A finance company today said it had fallen victim to scammers who are using it to con money out of people in Shropshire.

MCO Capital said it has been the victim of fraudsters who have been using stolen identities to obtain loans from it. The company has subsequently sent out letters requesting repayment of the loans to those people whose identities have been stolen by the criminals and used.

It was revealed last week that a string of cases had come to light in the Telford and Newport areas, causing alarm among innocent victims, who had not taken out loans and were worried about the demands for repayment.

MCO Capital spokesman Adrian Kibbler said: “MCO Capital has been the victim of a fraud and deeply regrets any inconvenience and distress caused to people who have had their identities stolen and had false loan applications made in their name.

“Criminals have been using stolen identities to make fraudulent loan applications from MCO Capital.

“The company is fully co-operating with police and trading standards to apprehend and convict those responsible for this crime.

“MCO Capital has also undertaken a review of its own processes.

“Identity theft is an issue for the whole of the financial services sector and people are urged to take all steps they can to prevent theft.

“Anyone who has not taken out a loan but receives a demand for money should not worry but must contact MCO Capital and report that they have been victims of fraud so that the matter can be dealt with.”

Mr Kibbler advised anyone who had been a victim of the scam to also contact credit reference agencies to prevent further fraudulent use of their identities.

Telford police spokesman Chris Ammonds said: “From further work which has been done, it appears that this scam goes much deeper than letters being sent out to try to scam people.

“The company itself, MCO Capital, appears to be the victim of fraud and a large scale investigation is being conducted by agencies, such as the City of London Police.”

Mr Ammonds urged anyone who received a letter to report directly to MCO Capital.

By Simon Hardy