Following an initial warning last summer, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued another caution to childcare settings not to be taken in by fake data protection agencies posing as Government bodies.
The bogus agencies send letters, often using threatening language, on official-looking headed notepaper requesting sums of up to 135.
A spokeswoman from the ICO said they had received more than 100 calls from nurseries and playgroups about these fake letters over the past few weeks.
She said the childcare sector was 'particularly vulnerable'.
Assistant information commissioner Phil Jones said, 'The golden rule is that if a business receives a letter out of the blue demanding more than 35 to register under the DPA, this will be a scam. Our simple message is to throw the letter in the bin and not to pay the fee.
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