Klein Hamilton News

Warning: Scam emails offering Legal Practice Course funding

Written By - Channon Sharples - August 01,2014

Alert

Warning: Scam emails offering Legal Practice Course funding

1 August 2014

Scam emails have been received by students who have completed their law degree, falsely stating that True Personal Injury Solicitors is a government body that can assist students by partially funding their LPC course.

What is the scam?

The SRA has been informed that emails have been sent to students who have completed their law degree . The email falsely states that True Personal Injury Solicitors is a government body that can partially fund the Legal Practice Course (LPC). The recipient is asked to provide details about the course they are enrolled on, with the claim that funding for part of the course fees can be arranged. It appears that the scam works by asking the reader to send a proportion of their fees to the sender of the scam email, with the false claim that the email sender will contribute the remaining amount to the course provider.

The fraudulent email is sent using the email address [email protected] and is signed by Matthew Mccormak, who states that he is a Consultant Solicitor at True Personal Injury Solicitors.

No individual called Matthew Mccormak is authorised and regulated by the SRA.The SRA does not authorise a firm with the name True Personal Injury Solicitors.

Any payment of money to Matthew Mccormak and/or True Personal Injury Solicitors or using the email address [email protected] is not undertaken by a solicitor's practice or an individual authorised or regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

True Solicitors LLP is a genuine firm which is authorised and regulated by the SRA. The firm has its head office at Percy House, Percy Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4PW, with branch offices at 25-27 St Helen's Street, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP4 1HH, and 2 Lisbon Square, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 4LY. The firm's genuine email address is [email protected]. True Solicitors LLP confirms that it has no connection with the fraudulent emails and does not employ anyone named Matthew Mccormak.

What should I do?

When a firm's or individual's identity has been copied exactly (or cloned), due diligence is necessary. If you receive correspondence claiming to be from the above firm(s) or individual(s), or information of a similar nature to that described, you should conduct your own due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence by contacting the law firm directly by reliable and established means. You can contact the SRA to find out if individuals or firms are regulated and authorised by the SRA and verify an individual's or firm's practising details. Other verification methods, such as checking public records (e.g. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.

Source- http://sra.org.uk/consumers/scam-alerts/legal-practice-course-funding-true-solicitors.page?src=rss