Bold Legal Group catches those out phishing on LinkedIn!

A partner in a Bold Legal Group (BLG) member firm was recently approached on LinkedIn by a firm in Bognor Regis calling themselves Regis Michael LLP, who appeared to be on a phishing expedition.

However, something didn’t feel right and upon inspection their website was somewhat lacking.

Rob Hailstone (CEO of the BLG), made email contact with Regis Michael LLP, asking for a conveyancing quote and details of their lender panel involvement and if they were SRA or CLC regulated. The early and very quick email responses stopped abruptly when a James Buckley was pushed for regulatory information about his firm.

Graham Murphy, Business Development Manager with the BLG tried to enter into a telephone conversation (getting voicemail only). He was successful with a brief web chat, which again ended abruptly when the firm was pushed for regulatory information.

Graham said:

“The address used on the website appears to be an industrial estate, but they have a different address on their review page on yelp, the website domain name was only registered in mid-October as were their social media streams and none of the “partners” are registered on the Law Society Find a Solicitor website. The partner called Lucy is a picture that is available all over the web, being used as stock photograph. They have over 500 + LinkedIn connections….some of which are solicitors, many in the residential sector.”

Rob Hailstone said:

“Having given the firm time to respond to my requests for evidence as to their genuineness I have very little doubt that this is the beginning of a phishing exercise (the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers) that, if successful, could lead to clients losing their money and unsuspecting conveyancers possibly losing their livelihoods. I can only thank the BLG member firm for spotting this so early on and reporting it to me. The relevant authorities have been contacted and hopefully the net (in this case at least) is closing in on those out phishing.”

Membership of the BLG is open to all (genuine!) conveyancing firms. If you are interested please email Rob at: [email protected]

Kindly shared by Bold Legal Group