We have recently been made aware of an active email intercept scam, targeting commercial property companies and professionals.  Often referred to as “Friday afternoon fraud”, the criminals intercept emails passing between client and solicitor during the course of a transaction. Just before completion the fraudsters step in, sending an email from a spoof email account which mimics the genuine one, so they can swap their own bank details for those of the solicitor.  The spoof emails can be highly persuasive and will initially appear genuine.  Whilst these emails may look like they come from your trusted solicitor, and even include the firm’s usual stationery, logo and your solicitor’s details, if the domain name in the email address has any changes in it, then it is not genuine. 

The email introducing the new bank details may be preceded by an exchange relating to the transaction, to help win your trust.  The fraudsters may even telephone pretending to be from the firm, to provide or verify the bank details, in an attempt to seal the fraud.

We remain vigilant to the risks and would ask all our clients to also be vigilant and alive to way in which the fraud operates. To assist you with this, during your transactions with Land Law LLP please be aware:

• We at Land Law LLP have not changed our bank account details;

• We will never notify clients of a change of bank account details by email;

• The Land Law email addresses all come from the “land.law” domain;

• We will never ask you to transfer funds to an account that is not in our name;

If you have any doubts or concerns when arranging money transfers to us, please speak to the solicitor dealing with your matter so they can help you. 

We at Land Law LLP take the risk of property fraud extremely seriously and always report suspicious circumstances to the appropriate authorities and relevant banking institutions. If you are concerned about anything you encounter whilst conducting your transactions with us, please let us know – we will assist you and will always do everything we can to protect our clients.