Trade mark scams: Attorneys sound alarm after spate of fake emails

Businesses across the UK are being urged to remain vigilant as a new wave of sophisticated trade mark scams targets company owners, exploiting fears around intellectual property infringement and falsely claiming legal authority.

Michelle Ward, a chartered trade mark attorney and founder of Chepstow- based Indelible IP Ltd, has issued a strong warning after a surge in scam emails that impersonate intellectual property solicitors and mislead businesses into paying inflated fees.

Ward told Businessin Wales. “Some of the emails claim to come from real solicitors or law firms, which is especially concerning. In reality, they are entirely fraudulent.”

Escalating tactics and urgency

While trade mark scams are not new, their recent escalation in style and delivery has alarmed experts. Traditionally, businesses have received bogus invoices for trade mark database listings after filing legitimate applications. These often mimic official documents and use deceptive branding similar to government bodies like the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) or EUIPO.

More recently, scammers have shifted their approach. “There’s a rising trend of emails being sent directly to business owners—even if they haven’t applied for a trade mark,” Ward explained. “They create a false sense of urgency, citing the Trade Marks Act and claiming immediate action is required to protect a business name.”

Many of these messages go a step further by fraudulently using the names of real, practising solicitors, which constitutes a criminal offence under UK law.

Impact on business owners

While the true financial toll remains unclear—given that many victims may be reluctant to report falling for scams—Ward notes that the reputational damage and confusion these attacks create are significant.

Ward added: “The concern is that people will start to ignore all correspondence that comes to them about names and trademarks because equally if someone is sent a cease and desist letter by a solicitor or a chartered trademark attorney,  it does require action. 

“It is a real threat, but we don’t want people to start ignoring those as well because that could have much more serious consequences.“

What to watch for

There are several types of trade mark-related scams currently circulating:

• Fake domain registration notices from China urging businesses to act quickly to prevent “third parties” from registering similar domains.
• Fraudulent trade mark database invoices sent by post, mimicking legitimate filings and demanding payment for spurious services.
• Emails from fake solicitors, citing UK trade mark law and pressuring businesses to register names or pay for services they don’t need.

These communications often arrive by post rather than email to bypass spam filters and exploit administrative loopholes.

How businesses can protect themselves

Ward stresses that education and internal training are key to prevention. “Staff need to be trained to treat unexpected IP communications with caution and verify legitimacy before making payments,” she said.

She also recommends:

• Reporting scam emails to Action Fraud (the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre).
• Forwarding suspicious communications to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) if they reference legal professionals.
• Checking notices against official warnings posted by the UKIPO and SRA (links available on their websites).
• Consulting a chartered trade mark attorney or a trusted solicitor when in doubt.

A growing concern

Although these scams have been circulating for over a decade, the added impersonation of solicitors marks a worrying shift.

Ward agrees these scams have escalated, saying: “The government notice on this actually asks people if they’ve received these is to report them to action fraud. 

“Once you have got your report number, then for people to then pass it on to the SRA in the case of these ones that are talking about intellectual property solicitors, because obviously they’re looking at what action they can potentially take.

“The more that are reported to action fraud, the more chance there is that a case can be put together and action can be taken. It also helps to raise awareness of it because the government is then picking up on the fact that there is a problem out there.“

For official government guidance and scam examples, visit the UKIPO’s fraud warning page.

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