McGuireWoods is a large law firm with offices in the U.S. and abroad. Unfortunately, unauthorized individuals sometimes fraudulently use the names of law firms and firm lawyers to try to perpetrate scams.
Email scams and other security risks abound on the Internet. The nature of “phishing,” “spoofing,” and other fraudulent emails make it impossible for McGuireWoods to prevent unauthorized use of our name and our lawyers’ names. We try to report scams that come to our attention to government authorities.
One of the most common scams referencing McGuireWoods involves individuals falsely claiming that McGuireWoods or a McGuireWoods lawyer is handling a legal matter, such as an eviction, and threatening punitive action if the email recipient fails to provide information and funds immediately. Some emails contain links or have attachments that can plant malware on the recipient’s computer. These emails are not from McGuireWoods.
If you receive a suspicious email referencing McGuireWoods or a McGuireWoods lawyer:
- Do not open or click on any links contained in the email.
- Do not open or download any attachments to the email.
- Do not respond to the email in any way or provide any personal information.
- Do not send any money in response to the email.
- Consider reporting the email to government authorities.
- Delete the message from your email account.
To report a potential email scam, we recommend you contact government authorities in your jurisdiction. In the United States, www.onguardonline.gov has information about protecting against and reporting suspected online scams.
While McGuireWoods is aware that corrupt individuals have used our firm name and the names of firm lawyers to attempt to perpetrate criminal scams on innocent people, McGuireWoods, our lawyers and staff are not responsible for a third party’s criminal conduct or liable for damages caused by criminal conduct.
To report potentially fraudulent use of McGuireWoods’ name or the name of a McGuireWoods lawyer, email [email protected] or call Jeff Hanson at 804.775.1162.