Alerts
Warning: Correspondence misusing the name of Farrer & Co LLP
21 April 2022
A letter has been sent misusing the name of Grania Baird of Farrer & Co LLP.
What is the scam?
An individual in Italy received a letter falsely claiming to be from 'Grania Baird' of 'Farrer & Co'. The letter is in Italian and appears to relate to purchasing or entering into a 'privileged’ cryptocurrency account, that purportedly offers the recipient various benefits.
The letter claims to be signed off by 'Grania Baird’ of 'Studio legale Farrer & Co’ and the footer bears SRA, ISO and Lexcel logos and the genuine firm’s name, SRA number and the first part of its London office address (see below for details of the genuine firm and solicitor). A 'stamp’ on the letter also sets out an email address of g.baird@gmail.com.
Any business or transactions through the above email address, or any such documents including it, are not undertaken by a solicitor’s practice authorised and regulated by the SRA or by an individual authorised and regulated by the SRA.
Is there a genuine firm or person?
The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine firm of solicitors called Farrer & Co LLP. Its SRA number is 447822 and its office address is 66 Lincoln’s Inn Field, London, WC2A 3LH.
The SRA also authorises and regulates a genuine solicitor called Grania Baird, who is a Partner at Farrer & Co LLP.
The genuine firm of Farrer & Co LLP has confirmed that neither it nor the genuine Grania Baird 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.
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