CQC have recently received a number of reports regarding individuals contacting service providers, claiming to be CQC inspectors in an attempt to elicit personal information relating to staff or service users at these providers. We have historically received reports of this nature, but it would appear that these scams are becoming more complex, including the use of email addresses with a format very similar to that of actual CQC emails.

Unfortunately, in many cases, these individuals are untraceable and there is little that can be done after the fact. As such, it is essential that providers remain vigilant of such scams and contact CQC on 03000 61 61 61 if they ever wish to verify the identity of a caller purporting to be from CQC.

Please raise this issue with providers and ask that they question anyone they don’t know that claims to work for CQC. If they would like confirmation, providers are encouraged to call the National Customer Service Centre on the above number, who will be able to verify whether the individual is a CQC employee or not.

Please report incidents to the Primary Care team on  licb.primarycarelincs@nhs.net