The Law Society have recently issued a warning about malicious emails being sent to law firms accredited with the CQS.
Having already been received by a number of firms, the Society state that the spoof email actually ‘contains links to websites known to hold malicious content’. It advises that firms beware of any emails with a subject line of “Your Ref: Completion Statement”, received from numerous sources including a btconnect email address.
Within the email body, the Society states that by clicking on specific links, a TR1 form can allegedly be viewed.
Common within the legal profession, especially among conveyancers, the sending of fraudulent emails is growing in frequency. Becoming increasing believable and typically containing attachments, clicking on or downloading anything within these spoof emails could infect the computer with malware. The Society advises not to ‘click on any links or download any documents from the links embedded within this spoof email. The easiest course of action is to delete the email completely.’
It also advises that IT systems are up to date and reviewed on a regular basis. In addition to this, the Society stresses that ‘staff are made fully aware of the risks of a cyber-attack.’
Law Society resources regarding cyber security and scam prevention can be accessed here.
