Beware fraudulent membership offers and phishing emails

07 May 2026 (Last updated: 7 May 2026 14:47)

You may be aware that POGP has been the target of a number of email phishing campaigns in recent months. At the outset, POGP communicated across all its channels to alert its stakeholders to the scam, undertook a review of its security systems and reported the incident to the Information Commissioner's Office. We are extremely frustrated that phishing emails are still in circulation.

The phishing campaigns focus on lifetime membership, flash sales for membership, which may or may not include heavily discounted offers on courses, or cheap prices for membership extensions.

These emails are fraudulent and have not been sent by POGP.

Each time a phishing email is sent the sender address is different, so we cannot warn you about one particular sender address to look out for. While some addresses bear no resemblance to POGP, one address used was pogp.secretariat@gmail.com. This address is NOT owned and NOT used by POGP.

In the campaigns we have seen, the scammers request that you reply to the email in order to claim your lifetime membership or other fraudulent offer. If a reply is sent stating that someone wishes to take up the lifetime offer, a reply email from the scammers is sent with a payment link and a request to reply to the email with a screenshot of the voucher received. The email is signed off by The POGP Secretariat and adding the correct POGP website address.

Again, these emails are fraudulent and have not been sent by POGP.

What you should do

Be especially careful when reading, opening, or responding to emails on a mobile phone. Phishing emails can be harder to spot on smaller screens, where sender details, links, and web addresses may be hidden or shortened
Treat emails as suspicious if they create a sense of urgency (for example, pressuring you to act immediately) or include offers that seem too good to be true
Do not reply to suspicious or unexpected emails
Do not click links or open attachments unless you are certain the message is genuine
Never send money or personal information in response to an email
Report suspicious emails using the Report Phishing option
Block the sender

Contact POGP if you are in any doubt

If you are in any doubt about whether an email is genuine, you can visit the POGP website to see if the offer is being promoted on the website, or call the office on 01543 442199.

If you have clicked on a suspicious link

Change your POGP account password immediately
Report any actual or suspected cyber security incident immediately to info@thepogp.co.uk

If you have made a payment

Contact your bank immediately to report the fraudulent transaction and seek advice on recovering the funds
Report the incident to Report Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre:

https://www.reportfraud.police.uk/

For more information about staying safe online, please visit Top tips for staying secure online | National Cyber Security Centre.

If you have been affected, please try not to worry — these messages are designed to be convincing, and support is available. We are here to help and support you.

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