Renewed fraud alert after Glasgow legal firm targeted

A renewed fraud alert to solicitors and members of the public has been issued by the Law Society of Scotland after a Glasgow legal practice fell victim to an identity theft by a bogus practice in London.

Hughes Dowdall found its details listed on a website for “Damian Alden Law Chambers”, a fake firm claiming to have a business address in London. It had copied names and photographs of genuine staff of Hughes Dowdall.

Fraudsters are increasingly targeting solicitors' practices, which oten handle large sums of money on behalf of clients. The fraud atempts take various forms. The Society is asking its members to be vigilant and to take action if they find their own or colleagues’ names being listed on the website of a firm they do not work for, and is advising members of the public to check the validity of solicitors by using the "Find a Solicitor" section of its website. Only solicitors who are currently entitled to practise are listed there.

Michael Foster, senior partner at Hughes Dowdall, said: “I am very concerned about this hijacking of our website and our personnel and the potential for damage to our hard-won reputation.

“It’s horrifying to think an unsuspecting and entirely innocent member of the public could be conned and suffer loss as a result of this.”

Ian Messer, director of financial compliance at the Law Society of Scotland, said: “We can confirm that Damian Alden Law Chambers is not a firm of Scottish solicitors and does not employ any members of the Law Society of Scotland. We have reported these instances to the authorities and are urging our members to be vigilant and to let us know if they find any illegitimate use of their details.

“We want members of the public to have complete confidence in seeking legal advice and services from solicitors. Every solicitor entitled to practice is registered with us and can be found on our website’s Find a Solicitor section.

“We would advise anyone who suspects a scam solicitor to report them to the police immediately and get in touch with the Law Society so that we can bring it to the attention of the Police Scotland economic crime units. This will ensure the matter is investigated properly and other potential victims of the scam will be protected.”