Like many reputable law firms, Reed Smith’s brand and the names of its lawyers and employees are attractive targets for perpetrators of fraud. Their scams can take many forms and are continually evolving. Contact us by email if you have any concerns about the issues below.
Fraudulent websites: This may occur if a bad actor claims to be or to act on our behalf by using a fraudulent website. Reed Smith’s legitimate website is www.reedsmith.com.
Fraudulent emails and phone calls: Emails may be sent making claims that they are from Reed Smith using similar domains to our legitimate domain. Reed Smith does not use any domains other than @reedsmith.com
If you are ever suspicious about an email (e.g., an email request to re-direct a payment) and think it may not be legitimate, please check with the person you deal with by sending a separate email (not by replying) and you may wish to check the Reed Smith lawyer's profile.
Fraudulent phone calls involving impersonation are on the rise. If you have any doubts about any call you receive from purporting to speak on behalf of Reed Smith, establish your own call to the person you usually deal with and again, if useful, consult the lawyer's profile.
Invoice Fraud: Clients may be at risk of invoice fraud if details of our bank account are changed. We do not change our bank accounts regularly, and clients should verify any request to change bank details for payments or to send payments to a new account. If any bank details are different from those currently held by a client, please contact the person you deal with in our Finance team or your relationship lawyer before making the payment.
Copyright Infringement Scam: This involves a bad actor claiming to be from a law firm representing the copyright owner of an image you are using on your website. These bad actors will use AI generated lawyers’ names along with an actual law firm’s domain name to trick you into responding. They may take the step of including an irrelevant legal document to further the scam. The end goal of these bad actors is to receive some fraudulent payment to settle a non-existent copyright matter or steal your login credentials. If you doubt the legitimacy of communications like this, please send it to Reed Smith security using the link below.
Counterfeit check/cheque or funds scam: The firm has been made aware of a scam whereby individuals attempt to use counterfeit Reed Smith checks to commit fraud on unsuspecting third parties. The third parties are instructed to deposit the check and, when the funds seem to be available, wire money back to the sender – before the check is ultimately determined to be counterfeit by the bank. The wired funds are usually not recoverable.
Use caution in relation to any unexpected or unusual communications. Never deposit unsolicited checks into your bank account until you confirm they are legitimate, and do not wire money back to the sender.
In general: If you receive suspicious or unexpected communications from someone purporting to be from Reed Smith, take care and do not click on any links embedded in any email or download any email attachments. We advise not engaging in any emails if you think they might be fraudulent.
If you think you might have been targeted and would like to report this to us or if you wish to discuss whether a communication is fraudulent, please contact us. We will investigate and take pro-active steps to deal with any fraudulent attempts.
Scam alerts are published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for UK law firms. Start from their overview of recent scam activity. The UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre has free advice on cyber security.