Alerts

Warning: Emails claiming to be from Baehrs Solicitors

23 August 2023

Emails have been sent claiming to be from Baehrs Solicitors in respect of an inheritance claim.

What is the scam?

The SRA has seen an email sent to member of the public purporting to be from Baehrs Solicitors in respect of an inheritance claim. The email advises the recipient that inheritance funds are held in escrow in a bank awaiting a claim. The email requests the recipient to print and sign a claimant form and attach a copy of their passport and ID documents and send them by email to the handling bank whose details are provided as:

Attn: Gerald Freeman, (Head of Operations) Claims Department, Bank of Communications UK, 4th Floor, 1 Bartholomew LN, London, EC2N 2AX, United Kingdom.

E-mail: info@communicationbnkuk.com

The email refers to the website of baehrs solicitors as 'www.baehrssolicitorsuk.com'.

Any business or transactions through 'www.baehrssolicitorsuk.com' are not undertaken by a firm or individual authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

Baehrs Solicitors closed on 30 September 2013 and were taken over by Ellis Jones Solicitors LLP.

The SRA authorises and regulates Ellis Jones Solicitors LLP. Its head office address is Sandbourne House, 302 Charminster Road, Bournemouth, BH8 9RU. Their telephone number is 01202525333. All emails from the genuine firm use @ellisjones.co.uk and the genuine website is https://www.ellisjones.co.uk/

The genuine firm of Ellis Jones Solicitors LLP has confirmed that the Baehrs Solicitors website is fake and has nothing to do with the firm that Ellis Jones Solicitors LLP took over in 2013.

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.