Fraud and scams

Slaughter and May has been made aware of a number of scams that use the name of the firm, its partners and staff without permission

Inheritance/advance fee fraud

If you have received an email informing you that a relative has died and you may be able to claim an "abandoned investment", this is likely to be part of a scam. Typically, the fraudsters will ask for an "advance fee", or similar, to release the non-existent monies.

Slaughter and May does not administer estates and will not, therefore, have sent you any correspondence relating to a potential inheritance.

Bill payment fraud

Law firm clients have been targeted by fraudsters who are informing the clients that the law firm’s bank details have changed and request that future settlement of the law firm’s bills is made to the new (ie the fraudster’s) account.

Slaughter and May sets out payment details for settlement of bills at the foot of its invoices. Any notification or request suggesting our payment details have changed will not, therefore, have come from Slaughter and May.

Reporting scams

Please report any scams involving the firm or use of our name to [email protected], or, if you are a client, by speaking to your usual Slaughter and May contact partner.

In addition, if you think you have been the victim of a fraud, you can, of course, report the matter to the police at any time.