Alerts
Warning: Emails misusing the name of Simpson Millar LLP
1 August 2022
Emails have been sent falsely claiming to be from Simpson Millar LLP providing fraudulent bank account details.
What is the scam?
The SRA has seen emails falsely claiming to be from of Simpson Millar LLP relating to a conveyancing transaction.
The emails seen by the SRA refer to a 'client case account' and ask the recipients of the emails to transfer funds to facilitate the exchange of contracts in their conveyancing transaction. One email seen by the SRA includes an attachment which claims to provide details for 'Simpson Millars Client Case Account'; however, these details are not genuine, and the account provides a totally different name.
The emails were sent from the email addresses 'dawn.davies@slmpsonmillar.co.uk,' 'amber.higgins@slimpsonmillar.co.uk' and 'uzma.hussain@simpsonmillars.co.uk.' One of the emails also copied in 'anthony.fletcher@slmpsonmillar.co.uk'.
(Please note that two of the emails incorrectly used the letter 'l' in place of 'i' in the firm's first name 'Simpson.' One of the emails incorrectly used an additional 's' in the firm's last name 'Millar').
The emails also give a telephone number for the genuine firm (see below)
The SRA has seen a further email which appears to be sent from a genuine email address of an employee of the genuine firm (see below).
Any business or transactions through the above email addresses are not undertaken by a solicitors' practice or 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 Simpson Millar LLP. The firm’s genuine email domain ends with @simpsonmillar.co.uk.
Dawn Davies, Amber Higgins, Anthony Fletcher, Uzma Hussain are genuine employees at the firm. Their genuine email addresses are dawn.davies@simpsonmillar.co.uk, amber.higgins@simpsonmillar.co.uk, anthony.fletcher@simpsonmillar.co.uk and uzma.hussain@simpsonmillar.co.uk.
The telephone number 0345 357 9689 is also a genuine number for Dawn Davies.
The genuine firm of Simpsons Millar LLP confirmed that neither it nor the genuine individuals mentioned above have any connection to the emails 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.