Sophisticated fraudsters

Solicitors have been advised to be on their guard after a small north east conveyancing firm became the latest victim of telephone scams. The firm lost a significant amount from its account. Following the incident, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) issued a warning to firms to be on their guard. The callers gain the confidence of the person on the line and then ask for “challenge and response” codes, which are used to authenticate payments and, in some cases digital banking log-on and passwords. Robert Loughlin, the SRA’s executive director of operations & quality, says: “All firms should ensure that their own internal systems for guarding against scams are up-to-date and that staff know how to implement them.”