Illegal use of our name

Scammers sometimes impersonate Macfarlanes, its partners, staff or others supposedly acting on its behalf. They may use emails, letters and/or social media (e.g. Whatsapp) to make contact and send correspondence that purports to come from or on behalf of this firm or its personnel.

Scammers often do this in order to make demands for money or to phish for information (e.g. to obtain personal information or cause the recipient to click on a link that downloads malware). The fraudulent motive may not be immediately apparent from the initial communication. 
If you receive a suspicious email which purports to come from this firm, check the domain name carefully. Genuine emails from partners and staff at Macfarlanes will only use the following format and domain name [first name].[second name]@macfarlanes.com 

What to look out for

Scams take various forms and may bear one or more of the hallmarks below. This is not an exhaustive list; new scams are regularly being set up. We encourage you to exercise caution in respect of any communication that you are not expecting or otherwise seems suspicious.

  • Impersonation of Macfarlanes and its people

Some scams misuse the names of individuals working at Macfarlanes by pretending to be them when they contact third parties. Others use names of individuals who do not work for Macfarlanes but claim to do so. In both cases the scammers sometimes use selected Macfarlanes contact details (such as office addresses) and our branding in order to appear legitimate. 

We are aware of emails and Whatsapp messages that have been sent in the last 6 months and falsely purported to come from partners and consultants of this firm, including Charles Meek, Nic Page and Howard Corney (who are genuine partners or consultants of this firm).

  • Fake emails (domain name)

Fraudsters use email domain names that are very similar to our genuine domain but with slight changes in the spelling, for example: mcfarlanepllp.com; macfarlanesss.com; @rnacfarlanes.com (using an "r" and an "n" to look like an "m"’); @macferlanes.com; @macfarslanes.com, or use email domain names which include the word 'embleton'.

  • False invoices for legal services

Fraudsters occasionally attempt to carry out scams using fake invoices purportedly issued by Macfarlanes. This can include contacting organisations or individuals to request payment of such fake invoices, using inauthentic email addresses that purport to originate from Macfarlanes.

  • Inheritance fraud

Scammers may contact individuals suggesting that they are due a large sum of money (for example an inheritance) and request the recipient to click on a link, provide their personal details, and/or make a payment in advance for legal services in order to receive the inheritance.

  • Copyright infringement ‘cease and desist’ demands

Fraudsters may also send emails or other communications that purport to originate from Macfarlanes, in which they accuse the recipient of breaching copyright and direct them to click on a link or attachment for more details of the alleged claim against them, in an attempt to ‘spear phish’. 

What should you do?

Macfarlanes does not regularly change its bank account details. If you receive a request to pay money into a bank account with different details than those currently held by you, please telephone your usual Macfarlanes contact to verify the request before making any payment.

If you are uncertain whether a communication that claims to originate from or on behalf of Macfarlanes or someone connected with us is genuine, please contact our Director of Risk, Yamini Paramesan at [email protected] or by calling +44 (0)20 7849 2054. Do not correspond with the sender in the meantime.

You should ignore scam emails and report any fraudulent correspondence to Report Fraud (UK) or your local law enforcement agency.