The British Association of Reinforcement (BAR) is warning its members of bogus company names including BuildNow Ltd; Atkins Group; Regal Building Supplies and G R Contracts.

BAR advised that credit insurers will not cover any loss if they believe that sufficient background checks have not been made.

It said: “The need for robust checks has been underlined by bogus companies that ‘clone’ genuine companies. Here a reputable company is cloned. All will be correct apart from the telephone numbers and email addresses. The clone company takes delivery of reinforcement mesh and then sells the mesh on.”

Steve Elliott, BAR chairman, added: “These are sophisticated scams and reinforcement suppliers are strongly advised to carry out stringent checks right down to the telephone number. Be cautious if the delivery address is an isolated warehouse with no construction going on or if the price agreed is higher than the real worth.”

He asked that the reinforcement sector continues to share information so that these bogus companies can be named and shamed.