The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recently warned people about a sophisticated email scam that wrongly claims to be connected with well-known UK law firms and demands Bitcoin payments or releases embarrassing videos.
The fake email, which was sent from “joyti.henchie@attwaters.co,” claims to have ties to Attwaters Solicitors and Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors while using the fake name “Patrice Joyce.” The email tells people that their personal information will be shared if they don’t send Bitcoin to a linked wallet that might be full of malware.
SRA Clarifies Identity Fraud in Bitcoin Scam Targeting UK Solicitors
After looking into it, the SRA made it clear that they do not register or oversee any lawyers with the name “Patrice Joyce.” This fake email address, “@attwaters.co,” is not connected to the real email addresses of the law firms involved, which are “@attwaters.co.uk” and “@attwatersjamesonhill.co.uk.”
Joyti is the real name of Manjot Kaur Henchie, who is a registered solicitor at Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors but has nothing to do with the scam email plan.
If someone gets a legal message that doesn’t seem right, the SRA tells them to be very careful and do a lot of studying. Aside from calling law firms through official channels, people can also check the SRA’s records to make sure that any lawyer or law company listed in these emails is real.
The FBI has noticed a larger trend: hackers who pose as lawyers take advantage of people who fall for cryptocurrency scams. This is why the warning is needed. These con artists lie when they say they can get back money that was lost, and they often use law enforcement agencies like the FBI to back up their lies.
People who fell for these scams dealt with con artists through fake websites that they thought were real ways to get their money back. As you can see, scams that take advantage of trust and the desire to make money are gaining popularity.
If you get a strange email or message, the SRA says to report it right away and not talk to the sender again. Being careful and checking things out is the best way to lower the risks of this kind of scam in this day and age.
