DLA Piper lawyers in the UK are targeted in email scam
Image from Shutterstock.com.
Scammers posed as DLA Piper lawyers in the United Kingdom to trick an entity into making a payment to a fraudulent bank account.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority said in a recent press release that the scammers sent emails purporting to be from Alan Cunningham, a partner who leads the law firm’s asset finance practice in the United Kingdom, and from asset finance associate Anna Middlebrook. Legaltech News has coverage.
The scammers created email addresses that appeared to be from DLA Piper. The fake addresses were alan.cunningham@dlappeir.com and anna.middlebrook@dlappeir.com. The law firm uses the domain name @dlapiper.com.
A DLA Piper spokesperson said the firm was aware of the scam. “We have worked with the SRA to raise awareness of the scam and ensure that email addresses can be easily verified,” the firm told Legaltech News. “Anyone receiving a suspicious email should not reply to it and should delete it, or contact us directly if there is any ambiguity over its authenticity.”
Linklaters also has been targeted by scammers posing as firm representatives requesting a bank transfer.