What happened

The office received a call purporting to be from its bank, indicating that there was a suspicious transaction on the client's account. The caller was put through to a solicitor in the firm and stated that an incoming transfer of €12,000 from another part of the country had raised a flag.

The caller said that he could stop the transaction once the solicitor provided answers to security questions. At this point, the solicitor noted that the call had not been solicited and declined to provide answers to the questions, so the caller hung up.

A sophisticated attack

Many solicitors will be familiar with less-sophisticated or automated calls to mobile numbers seeking personal information. However, a direct personal call to the office purporting to be from a known bank and referencing the client account is considerably more sophisticated and could extract information from an unwary practitioner or member of a firm’s support staff.

Solicitors and support staff should continue to be wary of unsolicited calls seeking sensitive information. Even if a caller sounds convincing, taking a moment to end the call, then contacting the organisation they purport to represent through a trusted number, will provide additional peace of mind.

Cybersecurity resources

For more information, resources and insight, see Cybersecurity.