Alerts

Warning: Emails misusing the name of Penmans Law Limited

6 January 2023

Emails falsely claiming to be from ‘Penmans Law Limited’ in respect of a house purchase

What is the scam?

The SRA has been informed that emails have been sent falsely claiming to be from ‘Penmans Law Limited’ in respect of a house purchase.

The email seen by the SRA refers to a house purchase, and asks the recipient to confirm when they will be paying the deposit so that the sender can send them the “conveyancing client account for the deposit payment”. The email appears to be sent from ‘Penmans Stanford’ but in fact was sent from the email address ‘mike@ghangorcloud.com’.

The footer of the email also gives the address, telephone number, fax number and DX address for a genuine firm of solicitors (see below). It also gives the SRA ID number for a former genuine firm (see below).

The SRA has also been advised that the telephone number for the genuine firm (see below) may have also been cloned and that telephone calls may have been made falsely claiming to be from ‘Penmans Law Limited.’

Any business or transactions through the email address ‘mike@ghangorcloud.com’ is not undertaken by a solicitors’ practice or an individual authorised or regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine firm of solicitors called ‘Penmans Law Limited’ whose genuine email address is stanford@penmanslaw.co.uk.

The genuine contact number for the firm is 01375 673968 and the fax number is 01375 641107. Its genuine postal address is 83A St Johns Way, Corringham, Essex, SS17 7LL and its genuine DX address was 34603 STANFORD-LE-HOPE, however the firm has confirmed that its DX address is no longer in use. The genuine SRA ID number for the genuine firm is 811998.

The firm was previously authorised and regulated by the SRA as ‘Penmans’, with the SRA ID number 59197.

The genuine firm Penmans Law Limited has confirmed that the firm does not have any connection to the emails and calls 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.