Scams and fraud alerts

Scammers sometimes impersonate Eversheds Sutherland, its partners, or its staff, using email, letters and/or social media (e.g. Whatsapp) to make contact and communicate.

Scammers also sometimes use emails, letters or invoices that purport to originate from Eversheds Sutherland while impersonating third parties (such as debt collection agencies or even personnel within the target of the fraud).

What to look out for

These scams can take many forms and constantly change but they often originate from an email. Some examples are given below. Please note this list is not exhaustive. We would encourage you to exercise caution with respect to any communication that seems suspicious.

Fraudulent emails and letters

Third parties can impersonate Eversheds Sutherland, its partners or its staff using email addresses provided by Gmail, Outlook, Hotmail or Yahoo, or by letter or social media. Fraudulent messages may include a copy of the firm’s branding. Scammers sometimes provide false contact telephone numbers or fake identity cards bearing the names of Eversheds Sutherland partners or staff.

Domain name

Scam emails may use domain names that are very similar to Eversheds Sutherland’s genuine domain or are the same but with slight changes in the spelling. Genuine emails from partners and staff at Eversheds Sutherland will only use the domain names:- @eversheds-sutherland.com, @eversheds-sutherland.nl, @konexoglobal.com, @konexoglobal.my, or @konexoglobal.sg

Request to change bank account details

Our bank account details will NOT change during the course of a transaction. If you receive such an email, please telephone your Eversheds Sutherland contact before any payment is made.

Inheritance/recovery of debt fraud

Third parties may impersonate Eversheds Sutherland or individuals who work for us using emails, letters or social media messages that suggest that the recipient is due a large sum of money (for example, inheritance, unclaimed bank funds or loans) and request the recipient to click on a link, provide their personal details, and/or make a payment in advance for legal services.

Demands for payment of false unpaid invoices

Fraudsters may also impersonate Eversheds Sutherland and individuals who work for it for the purpose of contacting organisations or individuals and demanding payment of a supposed outstanding invoice which they falsely claim is owed by the recipient to a client. The fraudster may use a fake email address that purports to originate from Eversheds Sutherland and falsely claim to be an individual (e.g. a solicitor) who genuinely works at Eversheds Sutherland but using a fake job title such as “Debt Collection Litigation Counsel” or similar.

False invoice for legal services

Fraudsters can attempt to carry out scams using fake Eversheds Sutherland invoices. Scams can include contacting clients or non-clients to request payment of fake Eversheds Sutherland invoices. Scams can involve the use of fake email addresses that purport to originate from Eversheds Sutherland, third parties (such as debt collection agencies), or even personnel within the target of the fraud (such as senior figures within those organisations and/or members of their finance teams).

Eversheds Sutherland does not regularly change its bank details. If the bank details quoted differ from those currently held by a client, please contact our Finance team to verify the request before making payment.

Impersonation of Ahmed Abdel-Hakam

Members of the public have been contacted by an individual falsely claiming to be ‘Ahmed Abdel-Hakam’, a solicitor who previously worked for Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP.

The individual impersonating Ahmed Abdel-Hakam sent messages and documents to the members of the public that falsely misused the name and Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) ID number of Ahmed Abdel-Hakam. The impersonator also sent fake 'Law Society Identity cards' that misused Ahmed’s name and SRA ID and contained the logos of the Law Society of England & Wales and the UK's Ministry of Justice. The Law Society, SRA and UK Ministry of Justice do not issue identity cards to solicitors.

These instances of impersonation appear to have taken place in the Middle East. If you are contacted by an individual claiming to be Ahmed Abdel-Hakam they are not genuine, as no person by that name works for Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP. Do not correspond with the sender or send them any money.

Impersonation of Matthew Allen

Members of the public have been contacted by an individual falsely claiming to be Matthew Allen, a solicitor who works in the London office of Eversheds Sutherland (International) LLP. The individual impersonating Matthew Allen sent messages and documents to the members of the public that falsely misused the name of Matthew Allen and Eversheds Sutherland, and offered to arrange for supposed ‘inheritance funds’ or other money to be transferred to them, in return for a payment. If you are contacted by an individual claiming to be Matthew Allen and they offer to arrange a transfer to you of inheritance funds or other money in return for a payment by you (or they make any other request that appears suspicious to you), you should confirm their authenticity by contacting compliance@Eversheds-Sutherland.com . Do not correspond with the sender or send them any money in the meantime.

What should you do?

If you receive a communication purporting to be from Eversheds Sutherland that you believe may be fraudulent, or you wish to clarify the authenticity of any payment requests, invoices or names of our lawyers please report the incident to riskandcompliance@eversheds-sutherland.com immediately. DO NOT correspond with the sender.

We recommend that you report any fraudulent correspondence to Action Fraud (UK) or your local law enforcement agency.

Please also see the Solicitors Regulation Authority website for known scams involving UK law firms at http://www.sra.org.uk/alerts/ .