Cybercrime issues affecting solicitor firms are increasing the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has revealed.
More and more reports are being received of firms either being contacted by con artists or falling victim to fraudulent activity, with potentially serious consequences for clients buying or selling property. The SRA is urging solicitors to step up their efforts to keep criminals out and protect client interests.
The majority of recent scams fall into two categories:
- Firms receiving calls pretending to be banks to obtain sensitive information, such as account passwords
- Emails between firms and clients being intercepted, leading to client funds being paid into fraudsters’ accounts
This is against a backdrop of continued instances of con artists pretending to be solicitors, using either fake names or stealing the identities of genuine firms.