A lawyer’s top tips for avoiding fraud

In an ideal world, every individual and business would be honest and offer a quality service in exchange for the money we pay. Unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world and fraudsters are developing ever more sophisticated methods to part innocent people with their cash – with many victims not realising they are being scammed until it is too late to do anything about it.

Fraudsters exist in every industry, but they can be especially dangerous in the legal sector, where transactions of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of pounds take place regularly. It is therefore vital to be vigilant and ensure you are doing everything possible to protect yourself.

In this article, our new Anti-Money Laundering Officer, Lesley-Ann Mayhew, gives her top tips for avoiding fraud during your legal matter.

Check that your chosen solicitor is regulated.

Before approaching any law firm or individual solicitor, it is important to check that they are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) – the body that regulates more than 200,000 solicitors across England and Wales. You can search the Solicitors Register to check whether a firm or individual is regulated by the SRA, as well as to ensure they are not on the list of firms or people that have been closed down by the SRA or prohibited from practicing.

It is particularly important to take this step if you have been contacted out of the blue by a firm or legal professional you have never heard of, even if they appear respectable. Fraudulent emails or calls can appear very professional and convincing!

Emails are not as safe as you think.

With fraudsters becoming cleverer all the time, emails are not the pinnacle of safe communication that many people think them to be. Emails can be hacked and intercepted – particularly if the user is lax with security and has an easy-to-guess password. It’s therefore important to be extremely wary of using email to send private documents and other information such as bank details. Your solicitor will always inform you of the procedures they have in place for sharing private documents and information (for example, a secure online portal), so it’s very important to follow these.

Unwary email users can also fall prey to phishing, where scammers pretend to be legitimate businesses in order to get hold of personal information such as passwords, bank or credit card details. They may do this by imitating another company’s branding or using a similar email address with a small spelling mistake. Anybody with your email address can email you pretending to be a solicitor, so it’s important to check with your solicitor via a separate communication channel (e.g., telephone) before sending across any private information.

Send a pound and check it’s been received.

It can be scary transferring the large sums of money often involved in legal transactions – and it can be potentially dangerous, too. Using the wrong details – either accidentally or because you have been a victim of fraud – can have devastating consequences. Fortunately, there is a simple way to double check. Simply send a small amount of money – for example, a pound – to the bank account details you have been given, then call your lawyer and check it has been received. Once you have confirmation that you have the right bank account, you can go ahead and transfer the remaining funds.

If you are unsure – just ask.

If there is anything you feel unsure about, don’t ignore your instincts – just ask. For example, if you receive different bank details than those you have previously used to transfer money to your solicitor, ask before using them. If somebody is asking you to pay bills or unexpected costs without discussing them with you first, look up the number of your law firm on their website and call them to check. If you are asked to provide personal details and don’t feel safe doing so, again it’s always better to check. When it comes to preventing fraud, there are no silly questions and asking your lawyer could mean the difference between completing your transaction successfully and losing a devastating sum of money.

Legal experts you can trust

Attwaters Jameson Hill holds the Law Society’s Lexcel Accreditation for excellence in client care, compliance and practice management and we have rigorous procedures in place to prevent money laundering and fraud. We are and have always been dedicated to helping our clients with their legal matter whilst keeping them, and their money, safe.

For more information about how we can help keep you and your money safe, please call Lesley-Ann on 0203 871 0127 or email lesley-ann.mayhew@attwaters.co.uk.