Lawyers targeted by email scam warns Westpac

Lawyers, real estate agents, and homebuyers are being targeted by an email scam which aims to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The scam, revealed by the Crime Management Team at Westpac in New Zealand, is more daring than many others due to the large amount of money targeted and the way scammers try to build a relationship with the victim.

Typically, a law firm will be contacted with the scammer purporting to be buying a home and considering the firm for their conveyancing.

After several emails have been exchanged the scammers then send “important documents” which require the lawyer’s email address and password to be unlocked; the scammer then has access to the lawyer’s email account.

The next stage is monitoring the lawyer’s account for details of a large transaction and when the payment deadline is reached they email a fake invoice to the client requesting payment and giving fraudulent bank details.

The scam came to light as Westpac intercepted a scam which would have involved the stealing of the entire $600,000 payment for a house purchase.

Anyone who thinks they may have been targeted by this fraud should report it to Cert NZ: www.cert.govt.nz/businesses-and-individuals/report-an-issue/

Eversheds Sutherland appoints IP head for Greater China
The strong demand for intellectual property services in Asia has led to a new hire for Eversheds Sutherland.

Cedric Lam has joined the firm as a corporate partner to lead the region’s IP team as Head of Intellectual Property, Greater China.

“We are delighted that Cedric has joined the Partnership. He brings new capabilities to our practice and complements our existing IP services practice in Asia, in particular our fast-growing IP team at Eversheds Harry Elias in Singapore, led by Brian Law. Cedric’s appointment is part of the continued investment in our market-leading corporate practice,” said Stephen Kitts, Eversheds Sutherland Managing Partner Asia.

Reed Smith appoints Global Solutions centre director
Reed Smith has appointed a centre director to oversee a new service delivery model across its global offices.

Barry Spenceley will be based in the firm’s Global Solutions centre in Leeds, UK, which will act as an incubator for the new service delivery model.

Global Solutions focuses on a culture of shared innovation which will result in highly trained, diverse teams working to complete shared tasks to increase efficiencies and to drive a consistent high quality in the delivery of service to the firm’s clients.

Spenceley’s experience at firms including Hewlett Packard and UK food manufacturers and retailers, will be leveraged to improve the solutions offer.