Data breach?

ThisIsWeird

You are absolutely right to be concerned, Gary, as this has many hallmarks of an attempted scam, coupled with a pretty limited numbers of info sources.

You may need to give the SRA some proper time, but I've no idea how effectively they may ultimately be. Keep on at them. Also ask them if you should report this to ActionFraud.

Perhaps also ask the EA and your conveyancer if you should report this to AF - see if any of them splutter...

user1977

ThisIsWeird said:

You may need to give the SRA some proper time, but I've no idea how effectively they may ultimately be. Keep on at them.

Where are you getting the idea that the SRA is the first port of call just because a data breach might be from a firm of solicitors? The solicitors need to be given a chance to make their own investigations - realistically, unless a breach is already known about, nobody at this stage can categorically say whether the breach is from their organisation.

GaryBC

Lots of stuff there peeps.... 
1) No, the breach can't be my end, it tells me stuff I don't know.
2) Yes, it could be at the seller's end - which is why I also informed the seller's solicitors
3) 24 hours is more than enough to simply reply "thanks, we'll look into it".
4) The SRA was informed at the same time as everyone else. They were NOT the first port of call (although now, seeing as none of the solicitors have even been bothered to (3) it may well be I start firing it up the chain a bit more forcefully). 

eddddy

GaryBC said:

I'm not investigating anything, I'm informing the solicitors that one of them has a leak. 

Why are you so sure that it's one of those 2 solicitors (or the EA) that has leaked your details?

For example...

• Did you email any other solicitors requesting quotes?

• Did you use a conveyancer comparison site to get a list of conveyancer quotes?

• Did you email any mortgage brokers requesting quotes? (Or did your chosen mortgage broker leak your details and/or have a rogue employee who sells people's details?)

• Did you contact any other businesses/websites related to selling your property? (Who maybe monitored your property on Rightmove to see when it went SSTC?)

• Could a scammer have combined information from Rightmove with information from other sources to match your property with your contact details?

Or did the scammers send out hundreds (or thousands) of those emails randomly (or semi-randomly to people who had given out clues that they were selling a property)?

And 99.5% of those emails reached people who hadn't just accepted an offer - but by coincidence, you were in 0.5% who happened to have just accepted an offer on their property?




(TBH, the last option is how many scams work. e.g. Contact thousands of people about their 'recent car accident', in the hope that you'll find 5 or 10 people who really did have a 'recent car accident'.)

GaryBC

No to all. 

user1977

GaryBC said:

3) 24 hours is more than enough to simply reply "thanks, we'll look into it".

Yes, but I'm not aware of them having any obligation to give you an acknowledgement. And I'm not sure what you'd expect them to do if the breach could be from a multitude of other sources. I expect the firms are comfortable with their current levels of security, they're not going to spend hours turning the place upside down without more evidence that it's actually them at fault.

GaryBC

user1977 said:

GaryBC said:

3) 24 hours is more than enough to simply reply "thanks, we'll look into it".

Yes, but I'm not aware of them having any obligation to give you an acknowledgement. And I'm not sure what you'd expect them to do if the breach could be from a multitude of other sources. I expect the firms are comfortable with their current levels of security, they're not going to spend hours turning the place upside down without more evidence that it's actually them at fault.

😂😂😂😂😂😂!!!! 

eddddy

GaryBC said:

user1977 said:

GaryBC said:

3) 24 hours is more than enough to simply reply "thanks, we'll look into it".

Yes, but I'm not aware of them having any obligation to give you an acknowledgement. And I'm not sure what you'd expect them to do if the breach could be from a multitude of other sources. I expect the firms are comfortable with their current levels of security, they're not going to spend hours turning the place upside down without more evidence that it's actually them at fault.

😂😂😂😂😂😂!!!! 

Does that roughly translate to "Oops, I think I've lost the argument"?

ThisIsWeird

user1977 said:

Where are you getting the idea that the SRA is the first port of call just because a data breach might be from a firm of solicitors? The solicitors need to be given a chance to make their own investigations - realistically, unless a breach is already known about, nobody at this stage can categorically say whether the breach is from their organisation.

Where are you getting the idea that I suggested the SRA is the first port of call? I sooo did not say that.

Tbh, I didn't even know what SRA stood for. But since it would appear to be the regulating body wot struck this seemingly-dodgy company off 10 years ago, then they surely should be informed, if only to nobble this company should they be breaching.

In fact, it's the first thing to do.

damn damn...

LHW99

user1977 said:

GaryBC said:

3) 24 hours is more than enough to simply reply "thanks, we'll look into it".

Yes, but I'm not aware of them having any obligation to give you an acknowledgement. And I'm not sure what you'd expect them to do if the breach could be from a multitude of other sources. I expect the firms are comfortable with their current levels of security, they're not going to spend hours turning the place upside down without more evidence that it's actually them at fault.

One other possible reason for at least two of the solicitors not acknowledging is that if you are not actually a customer, emails are often held while the system checks for anything that could breach their security.

I ave found a couple of times that when contacting as a customer, emails will be acknowledged / responded to in a couple of days. If not, and the email is a preliminary enquiry, then a week or so before any response is not unusual.