Alerts

Warning: Email claiming to be from 'Raj Dhillon' of 'Obiter Legal'

31 March 2022

An email has been sent to a law firm claiming to be from 'Raj Dhillon' of 'Obiter Legal' in respect of a conveyancing transaction.

What is the scam?

An email has been sent to a law firm claiming to be from 'Raj Dhillon' or 'Rajbinder Dhillon' of 'Obiter Legal', in respect of a conveyancing transaction.

Any business or transaction currently undertaken through someone claiming to be 'Raj Dhillon' of 'Obiter Legal', or otherwise through 'Obiter Legal', is not undertaken by an individual or firm of solicitors authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

We did previously authorise a firm called Obiter Legal Limited which closed on 14 January 2022 following an intervention.

The SRA does authorise the company Obiter Limited as a recognised body, but it is a non-trading corporate partner of a genuine firm called Gaby Hardwicke and it does not itself provide any legal services. 

The genuine firm of Gaby Hardwicke has confirmed that Obiter Limited has no connection to the email referred to in the above alert.

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.