Phone scams hit solicitors, with four firms losing £2m


Scam: call back on a mobile line

Four law firms have recently lost £2m from their client accounts after falling victim to scammers who tricked them into disclosing bank security information over the telephone, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned.

The regulator said the fraudsters gain the confidence of those they call – known as “social engineering” – to obtain important information and access account funds.

Specifically, they ask for ‘challenge and response’ codes, which are used to authenticate payments and in some cases digital banking log on and password credentials.

The SRA said that banks will never ask for passwords or response codes over the telephone.

Robert Loughlin, SRA executive director of operations, said: “These scammers are very active and convincing. They are highly sophisticated in their approach and therefore very capable of duping many people.”

Banks suggest that firms independently validate callers by contacting somebody they already know at the bank, preferably using a separate telephone line, for example a mobile line, as there have been examples of scammers keeping the line open to intercept any follow-on call to check – so-called vishing.

The news comes as Financial Fraud Action UK reported that consumers who fell victim to vishing lost at least £24m to fraudsters in the last year, more than treble the amount in the previous 12 months, with 58% of people saying they had received suspect calls over the same time.

Banks, building societies, card companies and the police have joined forces to highlight the problem, with a national advertising campaign planned to tell consumers what to look out for.

Other variations of the vishing fraud, as highlighted earlier this year by NatWest and RBS, include ultimately persuading customers to transfer money to a new bank account that has been opened so as to protect them from alleged fraudulent transactions.

Tags:




Leave a Comment

By clicking Submit you consent to Legal Futures storing your personal data and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy and section 5 of our Terms & Conditions which deals with user-generated content. All comments will be moderated before posting.

Required fields are marked *
Email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog


Civil enforcement – progress at last with CJC report

‘When do I get my money?’ is a question that litigators acting for successful parties are used to fielding. The value of judgments is of course in the recovery made.


Paralegals: Progression and recognition are key to retaining talent

Many lawyers could not do their jobs without the support of paralegals and for law firms to remain competitive, paralegals need to be central to their business.


PII excess: a growing risk for consultant solicitors

As more solicitors choose to work as consultants, a concerning contractual trend has emerged – the passing of professional indemnity insurance excess liabilities onto consultants.


Loading animation