Legal
Caution on Money Transfers
Cybercriminals target legal transactions. Please read this important information before transferring money to us, and always verify our account details by telephone first.
Last updated: 7 August 2026
Email Fraud and Payment Redirection Scams
Law firms and their clients are frequent targets of payment redirection scams (also known as business email compromise). Criminals intercept or imitate email communications and send fraudulent messages that appear to come from a law firm, a bank, a real estate agent or another party to a transaction, asking that money be paid to a different bank account.
These emails can be extremely convincing. They may use an email address nearly identical to ours, copy our branding and signature block, and refer to genuine details of your matter. Once money is transferred to a fraudulent account, it is often moved offshore within hours and may be unrecoverable.
Our Bank Account Details Will Not Change by Email
McCarthy Durie Lawyers will never notify you of a change to our trust or office bank account details by email. If you receive an email, even one that appears to come from us, advising that our account details have changed, treat it as fraudulent. Do not act on it, do not reply to it, and contact us immediately by telephone.
Always Verify Before You Transfer
Before transferring any money to us, please:
- Call us to verify our account details on , using a phone number you have sourced independently (from this website or our printed correspondence), not a number contained in the email you are verifying
- Speak to a member of our team and confirm the BSB and account number verbally before making any payment
- Where possible, transfer a small test amount first and confirm receipt with us by telephone before transferring the balance
- Check the sender's email address carefully, as fraudulent addresses often differ from genuine ones by a single character
- Be suspicious of any communication that creates urgency around a payment or requests secrecy
We take no responsibility for funds transferred to an incorrect account where the account details were not verified with us by telephone before the transfer was made.
The Same Caution Applies to Payments From Us
If you provide us with your bank account details, we may contact you by telephone to verify them before making a payment. We will not act on emailed changes to your account details without verbal verification. If your bank details change during your matter, please advise us by telephone as well as in writing.
If You Receive a Suspicious Communication
If you receive an email or other communication claiming to be from this firm that you were not expecting, that asks you to transfer money, or that advises of changed account details:
- Do not reply, click any links or open any attachments
- Contact us immediately on
- Keep the original email so it can be examined
If You Have Already Transferred Funds
If you believe you may have transferred money to a fraudulent account, act immediately, as the first 24 hours are critical:
- Contact your bank straight away and ask them to attempt recall of the payment
- Contact us on
- Report the incident to ReportCyber at www.cyber.gov.au
- Report the scam to Scamwatch at www.scamwatch.gov.au
Contact
If you have any questions about making a payment to us, or wish to verify any communication you have received, please contact us:
- Telephone:
- Email:
- Postal address: GPO Box 789, Brisbane QLD 4000
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.