Emails have been sent falsely claiming to be from Paul Halstead of Smith Sutcliffe Solicitors, in relation to a supposedly unclaimed inheritance.
What is the scam?
Members of the public have received emails from an individual falsely claiming to be "Paul Halstead" "counsel" of "Smith Sutcliffe Solicitors". The emails relate to a supposedly unclaimed inheritance of an individual. The last name of the purportedly deceased client is tailored to match the last name of the recipients of the emails.
The emails were sent using various email addresses: including gpaulhalstead@gmail.com,
Some emails misuse the name and photograph of a member of our staff.
Any business or transactions through any of the email addresses set out above are not undertaken by our firm
Is there a genuine firm or person?
A genuine solicitor called Paul Halstead, is a partner in the firm of Smith Sutcliffe Solicitors who are authorised to Practice in England and Wales
What should I do?
If you receive any such email, it is not genuine . At the present time we are not responding to any enquiries lodged via our website enquiry system because we believed that this may have been part of the scam.
We are not ignoring any such reports but are monitoring the incidence of the emails which have also been launched against several other UK Solicitors.
We believe that the manner and language of the email makes it clear that these emails are a scam an therefore you should feel confident in ignoring and deleting the same
Smith Sutcliffe
