Individuals across Australia have faced financial losses due to hackers impersonating law firms or other parties involved in legal matters. These cyber criminals manipulate electronic communications, including emails, social media and text messages, to deceive victims.
How to protect yourself
To protect yourself from falling prey to these scams, it is crucial to follow the steps outlined below.
- Before making any transfer, deposit, or payment, it is critical that you first call the recipient to verbally verify their account details. You should ask the transferee to tell you their account details and verify them against the information that has been sent to you.
- When confirming payment details by phone, avoid using any phone number listed in communications or documents that request money or outline account details. Instead, use a number from a trusted, independent source, such as a separate paper document, the official website, or a phone directory like the white or yellow pages.
- Always verify the legitimacy of any email before opening attachments, clicking on hyperlinks, or downloading files, especially if the email is unexpected. Contact the sender directly to confirm whether the communication is genuine.
- If you have any doubts about emails or other communications that appear to come from us, contact our office immediately on (08) 9220 4444 for clarification.
A note from Curae Law
We will not transfer funds from our practice without first verifying the bank account details via telephone. During this call, we will confirm the account and BSB numbers (or other relevant payment details, if not a bank account).
If a message about your matter looks wrong, reads differently or asks for something out of sequence, call us on (08) 9220 4444 before you act on it.