A new report from the SRA has found that the number of bogus law firms springing up per year has almost doubled since 2012, with around 700 fake firms now identified each year in the UK. Moreover, the SRA found that at least half of all reported cases of firm fraud involved identity theft of a genuine SRA-regulated law firm or solicitor, wherein scammers recreate the online presence of an existing firm in order to solicit money or information from prospective clients. But it’s not just clients who are being targeted – impersonating senior lawyers by using information available online and then requesting cash from an accounts team for unpaid invoices is also commonplace, the watchdog warned. The SRA Risk Outlook reports that almost one in ten law firms have lost money to cybercriminals. SRA chief executive Paul Philip said that solicitors and their firms must remain ‘constantly vigilant’ to the threat of cybercrime: ‘We want to see firms proactively making sure their clients are also aware of the risks in this area. For example, we would recommend that people avoid sharing bank details over email, or transferring money before confirming the source of any request,’ he said.

Sources: Legal Cheek; Australasian Lawyer; The Times; Today’s Conveyancer