The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned of con artists claiming to be from legitimate law firm Alker and Ball.
The public are advised that the e-mail address alkerandball@lawyer.com and the mobile telephone number 01942 366742 are not legitimate contact details for solicitors practice Alker and Ball.
Any business or transactions using those details are not undertaken by a solicitor’s practice or an individual authorised or regulated by the SRA.
The SRA does regulate a firm called Alker and Ball. The firm’s office is located at 29-33 King Street, Wigan, WN1 1EG and the firm’s genuine telephone number is 01942 246241.
Chris Harris from Lawyer Checker says "This is another case where fraudsters are using the name of a genuine firm to defraud the public.
“Conveyancers should ensure that they have robust checks in place to mitigate the risk of sending their client’s money to fraudsters."
Any information about or dealings with the alkerandball@lawyer.com or telephone number 01942 366742, particularly if it involves the payment of money, should be reported to the police.
Affected members of the public can also report the matter to the SRA via fraud@sra.org.uk. Solicitors should report the matter to the SRA red alert line on 0845 850 0999 or redalert@sra.org.uk.
