Alerts
Warning: Correspondence from 'Bustillo & Acton Partners Law Firm'
17 November 2021
Letter from 'Bustillo & Acton Partners Law Firm', claiming to be a law firm in London, regarding a supposed inheritance.
What is the scam?
A member of the public has received a letter from an individual called 'Ramon Bustillo', claiming to be an 'Attorney at Law' at 'Bustillo & Acton Partners Law Firm' with offices in Spain and in London. The letter seen by the SRA relates to a purported inheritance of an individual who supposedly holds the same surname as the recipient of the letter.
The letter provides an address in Spain, an address of an office supposedly in London W1S 2PZ, a telephone number of '+34 631 526 540', and email addresses of 'london@bustilloacton.com', 'madrid@bustilloacton.com' and 'r.bustillo@bustilloacton.com'. The letter also provides a website address of 'www.bustilloacton.com', however the website no longer seems to be active.
The SRA does not authorise or regulate a firm of solicitors called 'Bustillo & Acton Partners Law Firm'.
The letter uses a very similar postal address to that of a genuine firm of solicitors (see below).
Any business or transaction through 'Bustillo & Acton Partners Law Firm', or the telephone number, email addresses or website referred to above, is not undertaken by an individual or firm authorised and regulated by the SRA.
Is there a genuine firm or person?
The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine firm of solicitors called Westkin Law Limited. The firm’s head office address is at 5th Floor, Maddox House, 1 Maddox Street, London WS1 2PZ. The genuine firm’s contact number is 020 7118 8001 and the firm’s genuine emails end with the domain name @westkin.com.
The genuine firm Westkin Law Limited has confirmed that they do not have any connection to the correspondence referred to in the alert above.
What should I do?
When a firm's or individual's identity has been copied exactly (or cloned), due diligence is necessary. If you receive correspondence claiming to be from the above firm(s) or individual(s), or information of a similar nature to that described, you should conduct your own due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence by contacting the law firm directly by reliable and established means. You can contact the SRA to find out if individuals or firms are regulated and authorised by the SRA and verify an individual's or firm's practising details. Other verification methods, such as checking public records (e.g. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.
More information
Update 6 January 2022
The SRA has been informed that the above scam is still in operation.
The recent letter seen by the SRA provides a telephone number of '0034 632 975 398' and an email address of 'info@bustilloactonfirm.com'.