SRA scam alert: fake 'Janes Solicitors' and 'Simon Barker' offer fund recovery for £2,500 retainer
The UK SRA warns that scammers are falsely using the names of genuine firm Janes Solicitors LLP and solicitor Simon Barker to offer fund recovery for a £2,500 retainer.
- First reported
- Reports
- 1
Source: sra.org.uk · published
What happened
The UK Solicitors Regulation Authority issued a scam alert on October 14, 2026 saying emails and documents have been sent to a member of the public overseas misusing the name and details of the genuine firm Janes Solicitors LLP and the name and signature of a genuine solicitor, Simon Barker, in relation to recovering lost funds.
The genuine firm and the genuine solicitor have confirmed they have no connection to the emails, phone numbers, documents or website. They were impersonated; they are not the scammers.
How the scam works
The fake documents ask for a £2,500 retainer plus 2.5% commission on recovered funds, an upfront PayPal payment, and signature of an "Agreement Letter". They include a letterhead for "Jane's Solicitors Firm", phone numbers 07555832215, 07789622430 and +447578022972, the email office.janes-solicitors@mail.co.uk, and fake court and customs documents.
Further emails from "Barker Briggs"/"Briggs Barker" (BriggsBarkerESQ@hotmail.com), claiming to be a solicitor consultant, invited the recipient to a meeting to release funds. The recipient was pointed to lawsocietywales.com to "verify" the solicitor; the SRA does not regulate any firm called "Law Society Wales". The real Law Society's site is lawsociety.org.uk.
Source
Solicitors Regulation Authority scam alert, "Emails and documents have been sent purporting to be from Simon Barker and Janes Solicitors LLP" (October 14, 2026).
Red flags
- A law firm offering to recover lost money for an upfront retainer.
- Payment requested by PayPal.
- Solicitor emails from free webmail addresses or domains unlike the firm's real one (@janes-solicitors.co.uk).
- A "verification" website you are directed to by the people contacting you.
If you were targeted
- 1Don't pay. Contact the genuine firm using details you find independently (Janes Solicitors LLP: 020 7930 5100).
- 2Check any solicitor or firm with the SRA.
- 3If you've paid, contact PayPal and your bank, and report it to Action Fraud (UK) or your local police.