Alerts

Warning: Correspondence purporting to be from 'Fort Solicitors' or 'Fort & Co. Solicitors'

24 May 2023

Correspondence has been sent to a member of the public from 'Fort Solicitors' or 'Fort & Co. Solicitors' in relation to a supposed inheritance.

What is the scam?

Correspondence has been sent to a member of the public from an individual claiming to be 'Richard James Fort', a 'Solicitor and Senior Partner' at 'Fort Solicitors' or 'Fort & Co. Solicitors'. The correspondence relates to a supposed unclaimed inheritance and informs the recipient that they are the beneficiary to the inheritance because they share the same surname as the deceased.

The correspondence provides an email address of 'jamessfort@fortsolicitor.com', a telephone number of '+(44) 1753 981272' and a fax number of '+44-1753 984321'.

The correspondence misuses the office address, SRA ID and website address of a genuine firm of solicitors (see below).

Any business or transactions through 'jamessfort@fortsolicitor.com', '+(44) 1753 981272' and '+44-1753 984321' 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 firm of solicitors called Fort & Co Limited trading as Fort & Co. Solicitors. The SRA ID is 524639.

The firm's address is 271 Farnham Road, Slough SL2 1HA and the telephone number is 01753691224. The firm's website is at www.fortsolicitors.com and the genuine email domains ends with @fortsolicitors.com.

Richard James Fort is a former solicitor who works at Fort & Co Limited on a self-employed basis.

Fort & Co Limited has confirmed that it does not have any connection to 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.