Solicitor said they are changing bank account details...due to complete.is it a scam?!

[bmachine]

Hello

Bit of an odd one

Have been dealing with a conveyancing solicitor recommended by our estate agent for many months now

Have had detailed legal advise over phone. Been to office twice (covid). Searches etc the works done.

We were due to exchange today and have transferred deposit to the account number that was on our original client care letter. We verified this account number over phone twice with out solicitor and once over email..

Suddenly today they have advised they are changing to a limited company as of tommorow ( no word before) so will be sending us details of a new account to pay into for completion (told us this over phone and via email)

now I'm an anxious person and this has really set me off worrying I'm about to be scammed

Bf thinks I'm being irrational and we've been dealing with them for months

Can any one advise how I check if their story of converting to a limited company stacks up?

What assurances would you insist on being put in place before you transferred your life savings to a new account?

I have two weeks between exchange and completion so a bit of time to sort this out and feel satisfied

Any thoughts welcome

DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY TO THE NEW ACCOUNT YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OP, it's very unlikely that a change from a partnership to an LLP or similar will mean a change in bank details, more likely just a change of name on the account. These sorts of scams are well-known unfortunately and tend to target large sums of money such as completion funds and time pressures - ie you don't want to delay completion.

Is there anything on the firm's website about a change of name? Tell the firm that you need a hard copy letter sent to you (and don't give them your address as they should have it........) by post to confirm the new details. At the very least, you should contact the switchboard of the firm via the number for it on the SRA website and ask for the account details.

It may be absolutely fine but if it is, they won't mind you being really careful.

Please don’t send any money.

I too would make a journey and speak to someone at the solicitors office about this. Take Absolutely no chances. This sounds dodgy as anything.
Made my blood run a bit cold reading it.

Definitely a scam - don’t send money. Go to the office and advise them face to face.

If this is legitimate- the solicitor should know better!

Last time I did jury service it was on a fraud / money laundering case where house sale funds were diverted to the 'new' account and vanished. Huge amount of money.
(We found them guilty, BTW)

@bmachine

They have not been clear on that other then a 'letter' but i dont know if this is a physical letter or a letter sent via email

I'm half considering commuting an hour to their offices in person to have the account details handed to me..worried I'll come across as a crazy lady (I admit this) but then again for two hours out of my day maybe it's worth it...bf think I'm mad.

Absolutely do this...better safe than sorry.

Please make further enquiries. Very common scam. They should have warned you about this. Scammers will commonly look for emails about conveyancing transactions and then come in at the last minute with fraudulent account details.

PLEASE make further checks. You will not be protected by insurance unless the money has been in the client account.

Scam. Even if your solicitor opened a new account with an entirely different bank, they should leave the old one open for a run-off period and should not be giving you last minute change of account instructions.

I made myself look like a crazy lady when I was due a big inheritance from solicitors who were doing the probate.

I explained why but still went through with all my checks. They were fine about it. Better a bit of embarrassment than losing £1000s

Another to say verify things in person.

It is a fairly common scam. Hackers break into the solicitors' email and lurk. Then when a payment is expected, they send the forged email with different payment details.

If it is a scam, keep in mind it also means the solicitor has suffered a serious data breach. Your own personal data would be in the hands of the criminals, who may use it to target you for further fraud.

Scam - please do NOT send cash

I work in law. It's a scam. Please do not send money to the new account. Call your solicitor in the morning and tell them what you have been sent, other clients may have been sent the same.

There are often scams like this. If you can I would physically call in

@ItsDinah

Scam. Even if your solicitor opened a new account with an entirely different bank, they should leave the old one open for a run-off period and should not be giving you last minute change of account instructions.

thanks your comment is helpful- they said they are doing this and that old account will be open still.

I think its just really bad timing that this announcement has come between exchange and completion for us so seems like little time for us to get formal letters etc from them for reassurance- I am freaking out as you can tell!!

Very likely a scam.
Telephone the firm you are dealing with and speak to your lawyer to check.

The firm I'm currently using has a warning about these scams in its engagement letter ('we never change our account, if you receive this information call us').

I have also heard of two difference cases of invoice payment being diverted this way in the last week (£10,000s a time)

PLEASE DO NOT SEND MONEY TO THAT ACCOUNT. Speak to your solicitor/conveyancer ASAP.
If they have been hacked others will be at risk too.

Checking the account name is not enough. One of the invoice scams I just mentioned involved the scammers setting up the account in a mirror image name.

Telephone and speak to your lawyer in person to confirm.

Definitely a scam!!

Definitely a scam. Even under usual conditions we send a token amount £5 then await a phone call to say it’s there, before sending the full amount.

Please, please, please do not pay them. This is a well known scam. (They somehow hack the email).
I am so very pleased you posted on here without transferring the money first. Do update us how you get on.

If they're keeping old account open why do you need to send to new account?

@sanfranfibber

If they're keeping old account open why do you need to send to new account?

Yes - the whole thing smells fishier than a week old kipper.

It's a common scam! They hack their emails or customer lists and can send letters, email, voicemails.

Yes go to the office and have the details handed to you, but you could call them directly and ask. They won't mind you sending £5 first to check.

@StCharlotte

Almost certainly a scam if you're about to complete. I work for solicitors. Our cyber crime warning specifically refers to NOT changing bank details mid-stream.

Ring your solicitors. They also need to know if they've been hacked. Do not accept the details just by email.

this is interesting thank you i can use this as ammo to avoid sounding totally crazy when I insist on coming in person- only complication is covid as I think my solicitor is WFH but there was someone there to collect papers at the door when I dropped off signed paper work just the other day. will discuss with him tommorow

@sanfranfibber

If they're keeping old account open why do you need to send to new account?

good point I might insist that we will be paying into old account unless they can come up with a good reason (even if I go in person and check and everything seems above board) can a conveyancing solicitor on here advise if they have been out of line trying to change this half way through our transaction-its put the fear god in me