Alerts

Warning: Misuse of the identity of Oliver Luke Brown

2 December 2024

A member of the public has been in correspondence with someone misusing the name of Oliver Luke Brown in relation to financial recovery.

What is the scam?

The SRA has been informed that someone purporting to be a genuine solicitor (see below) has been corresponding with a member of the public in relation to financial recovery.

Initial contact with the member of the public was made by WhatsApp, in which the author advised their name was Oliver Brown from the company Brown Ltd, regarding 'the case of withdrawal the funds from TrustChange'. It advised their details were sent to it from the ESMA company, and that they could see Trust Change was blocking a withdrawal.

A subsequent email was sent to the member of public from the email address 'oliver.brown@brown-ltd.eu', purporting to be from Oliver Brown of the company Brown Ltd. The email included a 'Call Back line' of +44 7418355268, a link to a company on Companies House, and a website address of 'https://brown-ltd.co/'. Attached to this email were documents titled 'My Licence' and 'Passport'. These documents were not legitimate. The Licence misuses the name and SRA ID number of a genuine solicitor (see below).

Any business or transaction through this email address, telephone number, or website is not undertaken by a genuine firm or solicitor.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine solicitor called Oliver Luke Brown. He works at a genuine firm of solicitors called CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, which is authorised and regulated by the SRA. His genuine email address is Communications@cms-cmno.com. His genuine SRA ID number is 640576.

Oliver Luke Brown has confirmed that neither he nor CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP have any connection to the correspondence referred to in the above alert.

What should I do?

When a firm's or individual's identity has been copied exactly (or cloned), due diligence is necessary. If you receive correspondence claiming to be from the above firm(s) or individual(s), or information of a similar nature to that described, you should conduct your own due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence by contacting the law firm directly by reliable and established means. You can contact the SRA to find out if individuals or firms are regulated and authorised by the SRA and verify an individual's or firm's practising details. Other verification methods, such as checking public records (e.g. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.