The Solicitors Regulation Authority have issued an alert to professionals and the public over fraudulent emails regarding abandoned funds.
According to the regulator, emails have been sent to members of the public by parties falsely claiming to be from law firms, sparking concerns that they’re part of a wider scam.
The SRA says it has been informed that one email, relating to a deceased individual with a supposed abandoned financial investment, purports to contact members of the immediate or extended family. The name of the deceased has been made to match the intended recipient.
Another email the regulator highlights purports to have been sent in respect of an inheritance or other payment following a supposed air crash where a family member was involved. The email then invites the recipient to make contact in order to obtain the funds.
The SRA states that whilst the firms the emails were supposedly sent from are genuine, the real firms have confirmed that they have no connection to the emails in question.
The regulator has warned that recipients of such emails should be alert to such scams and to conduct due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence.
