Alerts

Warning: Correspondence misusing the name of Suzanne Gingles of Hadef & Partners

25 May 2022

Correspondence has been sent from an individual falsely purporting to be 'Suzanne Gingles' attaching a letter of guarantee.

What is the scam?

Emails have been received by a member of the public from someone falsely claiming to be the solicitor Suzanne Gingles (see below for details of the genuine solicitor).

The emails and correspondence seen by the SRA request that the recipient write a cheque for $20,650, in relation to supposed taxes due on a purported inheritance.  One email also attached a supposed ‘Letter of Guarantee’ misusing the name of the employer of the genuine solicitor (see below).

The email addresses used in the correspondence were 'suzannegingles10@gmail.com' and 'suzannegingles@hadefpartnerslawyers.com'

Any business or transactions through the email addresses 'suzannegingles@hadefpartnerslawyers.com' and 'suzannegingles10@gmail.com' is not undertaken by an individual or firm of solicitors authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine solicitor called Suzanne Gingles, whose genuine email address is S.Gingles@hadefpartners.com.

Suzanne Gingles is employed as a solicitor at Hadef & Partners, which is genuine law practice based in the United Arab Emirates that is not SRA regulated.

The genuine Suzanne Gingles and Hadef & Partners have confirmed that they have no genuine or intended connection to the emails and 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.