BACP  has recieved information on a telephone scam that has affected a number of members.

One member has recently received an email that they thought might be spam but because of the level of detail in the email, which is not normally present in most spam, they initially gave the sender of the email the benefit of the doubt.

The email purported to be from a therapist in Chicago specifically seeking 'person-centred counselling' for a client visiting my area. The client was said to be a 'model', which was the first alarm bell although they weren't sure ecause it did appear, from a Google search, that there was indeed a model with the name given.

However on asking a couple of questions of the sender it was clear to them that though they were trying very hard to make it seem a genuine request by
providing the name of a real hotel for example, it was indeed a scam and after making some enquiries they gathered the email went to other counsellors in
Cornwall too.

We believe the the scam isn't confined to Cornwall and warn members of BACP to be vigalent.  Giving bank details out to potential clients for advanced payment is not recommended.