Hoaxes & Scams
Important notice: If you receive an email that doesn’t appear authentic and genuine from an account posing as Hodge Jones & Allen, please don’t respond. Genuine emails from us will only use the domain @hja.net
What is a hoax?
A hoax is often designed to take money from you, via your computer and the internet, through false websites and emails.
There are various different forms of hoaxes, including:
- Computer virus warnings
- Donation calls for those that are ill, or for charities
- A payment via email
More often than not, hoax emails and messages have been forwarded to many different people, and so are often vague. For example, using time information ‘tomorrow’ or ‘yesterday’. This is so the hoax can be passed on easily.
Protecting yourself
By following our tips below you can reduce the risk of being a victim to a hoax:
- Don’t share personal data, such as credit card numbers, usernames and passwords
- Don’t click on suspicious email links within the message
- Don’t open suspicious email attachments
- Always keep your antivirus software up to date
- Switch your firewall on
- Use secure passwords that’s difficult to guess – upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols
What to do if you open a hoax email
If you have opened a scam email, then:
- Don’t pass on any of your personal data
- Don’t reply back to the email
- Don’t open any attachments or links
- Report it to hja@hja.net
For further information regarding hoaxes and scams, visit Solicitors Regulation Authority.