The UK’s Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) issued a warning on July 8 about a sophisticated email scam involving fraudsters impersonating solicitors to demand Bitcoin.
UK Authority Exposes Bitcoin Extortion Attempt
According to an update on the SRA’s website, scammers are sending emails from the address “joyti.henchie@attwaters.co” claiming to have obtained the recipient’s personal data.
The fraudulent messages threaten to release damaging videos unless a payment in Bitcoin (BTC) is made, directing victims to a Bitcoin wallet link that the SRA cautions may contain compromising malware.
Scam alert: Email from ‘attwaters․co’ https://t.co/M908MSRZLo
— SRA (@sra_solicitors) July 8, 2024
The scam email falsely uses the name “Patrice Joyce” and purports to be associated with legitimate law firms, Attwaters Solicitors and Attwaters Jameson Hill Solicitors. However, the SRA has confirmed that it does not authorize or regulate any solicitor by that name.
The UK Authority emphasizes that any correspondence or transactions through the email domain “@attwaters.co” are not associated with the genuine firms or individuals it regulates.
The regulator further clarified that legitimate law firms use email domains that end with “@attwaters.co.uk” or “@attwatersjamesonhill.co.uk.”
The SRA advises individuals to exercise due diligence when receiving suspicious correspondence, including verifying email authenticity by directly contacting the purported law firm and checking the SRA’s official records to confirm authorization status.
This email scam uncovered by the SRA is part of a series of fake domain scams perpetrated by malicious entities.
The UK Authority noted that in October 2023, Coinbase users were targeted as scammers used the Coinbase domain name for phishing attacks. The scammers sent texts and emails to unsuspecting users with links from the Coinbase domain name.
Google’s online advertising platform, Google Ads, is promoting malicious crypto websites, exposing users to a phishing scam. #Google #Scamhttps://t.co/jVjnetGLaq
— Cryptonews.com (@cryptonews) April 19, 2024
Crypto News also reported on Google Ads promoting fake crypto websites that exposed users to phishing scams. Upon interacting with these ads, crypto users were redirected to a fraudulent domain instead of genuine ones.
UK’s Regulatory Responds To Crypto Scam With Investor Protection Measures
While individual vigilance is crucial in protecting against crypto scams, regulatory bodies are also taking significant steps to safeguard investors and maintain market integrity.
In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is at the forefront of these efforts, outlining several key initiatives for the 2024-2025 period.
To start, the FCA seeks to enhance its capabilities in detecting and addressing market abuse within the crypto sector.
We’ve issued 39 new #FCAwarnings to unauthorised and clone firms in the past week. Protect yourself and find all recent warnings https://t.co/ysRyyV316m pic.twitter.com/SE3fanyrZ7
— Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) July 5, 2024
This involves improving monitoring and intervention systems, as well as developing advanced tools such as network analysis and cross-asset class visualizations.
Additionally, the FCA is working towards implementing a proportionate market abuse regime for crypto assets, a framework intending to support innovation while simultaneously lowering industry costs.
Another crucial aspect of the FCA’s strategy has been the creation of awareness campaigns to educate investors about potential scams, empowering them to make informed decisions in the crypto market.
However, despite these efforts, many crypto firms still struggle with compliance.
In 2023, the FCA issued 450 alerts for illegal crypto advertisements and pledged to continue taking action against non-compliant promotions throughout 2024.
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