Caution – Electronic and Telephonic Communications
Lisa M. Coulter
Snell & Wilmer is a large law firm, serving clients all over the country and the world.
It employs hundreds of lawyers and support staff in multiple states and in Mexico. Because of our presence, Snell & Wilmer sometimes attracts the attention of unethical and unscrupulous individuals who falsely claim to work for Snell & Wilmer and/or use our name to advance fraudulent schemes, for their own personal benefit, against innocent people. We care about our clients and therefore want to share the following information.
As with all business conducted over the internet, you should consider taking steps to protect yourself and the security of your information. While we routinely report abuses to law enforcement agencies, and utilize software to assist in identifying fraudulent email, the nature and increasing volume of these scams and frauds makes it impossible for our firm to prevent the misuse of Snell & Wilmer’s name and the names of our lawyers.
Misrepresentations may include such things as individuals claiming, by email or over the phone, to be Snell & Wilmer lawyers or staff, and falsely:
- Representing that they are handling lawsuits or transactional matters, including loan documentation, and requesting payment;
- Vouching for the reputation or creditworthiness of others;
- Providing or changing wiring or payment instructions;
- Requesting personal or financial information; or
- Stating that Snell & Wilmer lawyers authorized certain actions that result in the improper diversion of money or information.
This is not an exhaustive list of scams. New scams and security threats are being devised all the time.
What You Can Do
If you feel that you have been a victim of a scam, contact your local police. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center or “IC3” (including for cyber-crime schemes and frauds that victimize individuals and businesses), and/or the FTC’s Complaint Assistant website (for identity theft, imposter scams and rip-offs, bogus requests for money, etc.) also offer further information and assistance.
If you receive a telephone call or email from someone claiming to be with Snell & Wilmer, and you are concerned about whether it is genuine, we suggest the following:
- Attempt to independently verify the legitimacy of the caller’s identity including for example, calling the person back at a Snell & Wilmer number known to you or asking to speak with the firm’s general counsel.
- Do not send or wire the caller any money.
- Do not provide the caller any personal or financial information about yourself, for example, your bank accounts, credit card numbers, or social security numbers.
- Report the fraudulent call to the police or other relevant authorities.
In addition, if you receive a suspicious email referencing our firm or appearing to be from our firm (e.g., from a “spoofed” Snell & Wilmer email address, which does not end in “name@swlaw.com”), please be careful. Many “spoofed” email addresses or other email addresses can be quite convincing as the senders will often change one character or one letter to try and fool the recipient, who they hope will not spend much time looking at the address. If you have any concerns, we suggest the following:
- 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 or confidential information in reply to the email.
- Do not send any money in response to the email.
- If applicable, forward the suspicious email to your organization’s IT Department and ask that they inspect the message to determine legitimacy.
- Delete (permanently) the message from your email account.
- Reach out to your attorney at Snell & Wilmer, using a new email rather than a “reply” email, at the Snell & Wilmer email address provided to you by the firm.
If you have questions about the security of your computer or suspect the security of your computer has been compromised, we suggest you contact your IT support team, computer manufacturer, or internet service provider.
Snell & Wilmer does not conduct business from web-based email accounts such as gmail.com, hotmail.com, yahoo.com, or personal email addresses. The firm does not conduct firm business by text message or instant messaging. Neither Snell & Wilmer nor its lawyers or staff can accept any responsibility for the criminal conduct of a third party claiming to use the firm’s name. If you have any question or concerns, or receive suspicious communications that reference Snell & Wilmer, you may also contact our general counsel at the telephone number or email address shown on this web page.