Alerts
Warning: Emails from 'Saunders & Associates LLP' or 'Saunders & Associates Law Office'
13 April 2023
Emails have been sent to members of the public from 'Saunders & Associates LLP' or 'Saunders & Associates Law Office' in relation to a supposed inheritance.
What is the scam?
An email has been sent to a member of the public from an individual using the name 'Leslier Saunders' claiming to be an 'Attorney at law/Solicitor' at 'Saunders & Associates LLP' or 'Saunders & Associates Law Office'. The email relates to supposedly presenting the recipient as next of kin for a purported inheritance.
The email provides an email address of 'saundersesq@gmail.com', a telephone number of '+44-133-232-3118' and a fax number of '+44-133-221-5125'. The email also provides and misuses the office address of a genuine firm of solicitors and genuine solicitor (see below)
The SRA does not authorise and regulate a solicitor called 'Leslier Saunders' or a firm of solicitors called 'Saunders & Associates LLP' or 'Saunders & Associates Law Office' but see below for details of a genuine solicitor and genuine firms with similar names.
Any business or transactions through 'Saunders & Associates LLP' and/or 'Saunders & Associates Law Office' or the email address, telephone number or fax number above are not undertaken by a firm or individual authorised and regulated by the SRA.
Is there a genuine firm or person?
The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine solicitor called Leslie Saunders. Leslie Saunders is a director of the genuine firm of Leslie George Saunders Limited that trades via the genuine firm of Anderson Partnership Solicitors from a head office address of 71 Saltergate, Chesterfield, S40 1JS. The email address of the genuine Leslie Saunders is les@andersonslaw.co.uk and the genuine telephone number for his firm is 01246 220 737.
The genuine Leslie Saunders has confirmed that neither he nor his firm have any genuine connection to the email referred to in the above alert.
The SRA also authorises and regulates several firms of solicitors that use 'Saunders' as part of their name, including Saunders & Partners LLP (trading as Saunders Law) and Saunders Solicitors Ltd. None of these firms are believed to be connected 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 (eg. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.