Alerts
Warning: Emails misusing the name of Kuit Steinart Levy
20 January 2023
Emails have been sent from the domain '@kuitts.com' falsely claiming to be Kuit Steinart Levy LLP.
What is the scam?
The SRA has seen emails falsely claiming to be from Kuit Steinart Levy LLP relating to conveyancing transactions.
The emails seen by the SRA ask the recipient to transfer funds to progress with their purchase but provide false bank account details.
The emails seen by the SRA falsely claim to be sent from 'Claire Heron' but are sent from the email address 'joancross@kuitts.com'. The emails also sometimes provide and misuse the names of other genuine employees of the genuine firm in the email footers. Please note that the email domain '@kuitts' incorrectly uses an additional 't' in the firm's name and email domain (see below).
The SRA has been advised that other bogus emails with the domain name ''@kuitts.com'' have also been sent from other addresses.
Any business or transactions through email addresses ending with the domain name ''@kuitts.com'' 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 with the name Kuit Steinart Levy LLP, whose head office is located in Manchester.
The firm has confirmed that Joan Cross, Claire Heron, Vina Mistry, and Lucy Hamlett are all genuine employees at the firm, and Anthony Hardy is a Partner at the firm, but the firm’s genuine email domain ends with @kuits.com.
The genuine firm of Kuit Steinart Levy confirmed that neither it nor the genuine individuals mentioned above have any genuine and intended 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.