Swamped by fake solicitor scam emails

My in-box has 10 identical emails – one after the other, all sent at exactly the same time. It's not just my biggest ever spamming in a single minute, they also show a disturbing new trend – pretending that the messages come from a firm of solicitors.

Scam merchants know there is a greater chance of a recipient both opening the email and then looking at the attachment if it appears to come from a legal source. As I wrote in The fake solicitor scam epidemic, the number of fraudsters posing as solicitors is increasingly significantly.

My ten emails are headed "passport copy". The content says:

"Please find attached copy of the passport for my wife and daughter as requested. please note we need to complete on the purchase in 4 weeks from the agreed date."

But if you are curious enough to open the attachment, you lay yourself open to a torrent of malware which could hold your computer to ransom. It could lock up completely and you will only get the "password key" if you hand over cash.

What makes this more frightening is the firm of lawyers – and the individual solicitor's first name – are those of a genuine firm and qualified solicitor in Manchester. Anyone looking this one up on the Solicitors Regulatory Authority website, where all genuine solicitors have to register, will find nothing untoward.

"Aspiring Solicitors"
This follows another email, apparently from a law firm, which is even worse as it hopes to swindle money via malware and ransom demands but also – even if you don't open the attachment – because it demands money for debt repayment to a bank.

This missive appears to come from a law firm called "Aspiring Solicitors", which claims to be acting for a bank. This can be Barclays, HSBC, and Royal Bank of Scotland all appear in variations on this scam, though they obviously have nothing to do with it.

The email is full of legal threats of what will happen if the recipient does not hand over a substantial sum.

Here's one using Bank of Scotland's name

Dear Sir, Madam
Re: Our Client Bank of Scotland PLC
Account Number:77666612
Balance: 2,345.00
We are instructed by Bank of Scotland PLC in relation to the above matter.

You are required to pay the balance of GBP 2,345.00 in full within 7(seven) days from the date of this email to avoid Country Court proceedings being issued against you. Once proceedings have been issued, you will be liable for court fees and solicitors costs detailed below.

Court Fees GBP 245.00

Solicitors Costs GBP 750.00

Cheques or Postal Orders should be made payable to Bank of Scotland PLC and sent to the address in attachment below quoting the above account number.

We are instructed by our Client that they can accept payment by either Debit or Credit Card.If you wish to make a payment in this way, then please contact us with your Card details. We will then pass these details on to our Client in order that they may process your agreed payment. Kindly note that any payment made will be shown on your Bank and/or Credit Card Statement as being made to Bank of Scotland PLC.

If you have any queries regarding this matter or have a genuine reason for non payment, you should contact us within 7 days from the date of this email to avoid legal proceedings being issued against you, by filling the contact us form in attachment below.

It's nasty. And it would be easy for vulnerable people to be confused, if they got past the many typos.

There is an address in Cardiff which, while real, is actually that of a Lloyds Bank office.

The SRA says: "The SRA does not authorise or regulate a firm called Aspiring Solicitors. Therefore, any e-mails received from or any business or transactions through Aspiring Solicitors are not undertaken by a solicitor's practice or individuals authorised or regulated by the SRA."

But there is a legitimate organisation called "Aspiring Solicitors" which is exactly what it says – it exists to help those wanting to get their first steps on the legal ladder with finding training contracts and general advice on careers. Its website features information relating to some of the biggest law firms. It says that its own security remains solid – it's just the name the fraudsters have stolen.

What happens if you fall for it
The scamsters hope that recipients will send the money demanded. And they also hope that Windows users will open the attachment for contact details.

If they do, it will unleash the Dridex trojan, which scoops up banking and other passwords.

Remember that anything you receive which replaces the £ sign with GBP is likely to be questionable. GBP or Great Britain Pounds is used where the £ is not on the keyboard. No UK firm would use it to communicate with a customer or client.

More on AOL Money:

Fraud aimed at over 55s soaring

Avoid this shipping container investment scam

Scamwatch: banking fraud