"AvoidAClaim" Blog

Two Ontario lawyers have just reported to us that they received the following message from the purported Lily Wang. This scam is very similar to other breach licence scams we have seen over the last several months. It is a setup to dupe a lawyer into wiring good funds from a trust account after depositing a fraudulent cheque received in payment of damages.

Here is a copy of the message the lawyers received:

From: Lily Wang [mailto:lily_wang101@9.cn]
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2012 12:33 PM
To: [lawyer email address]
Subject: Tarde Mark Infringement

Yours truly,
Lily Wang
Manager

How to handle a real or suspected fraud Read the rest of this entry →

How often do you find yourself giving new clients directions to your office? Google Maps offers a great tool for creating a map that will show clients the location of your office. Go to maps.google.com and type your office address into the search box. Click on the link icon (look for an icon with 3 chain links at the top right corner of your screen). This will open a pop-up that will give you a URL link you can use to access that same map. Send that link to a new client via email and they can see the map.

The pop-up also gives you the HTML code you can use to include the map on your website. Take it a step further by creating customized maps to show clients directions to other places that might be helpful for them (e.g., the local court house).

This is just one of the countless amazing tools Google offers that can help lawyers in their day-to-day life. To learn more, be sure to check out Google for Lawyers, available in the practicePRO Lending Library.

An Oakville lawyer advised us of a new scam that appears to be a brazen attempt to gain access to a law firm’s computers.

Someone identifying himself as Mason Saunders called the firm this morning and asked to speak directly to the lawyer by name. He indicated to the lawyer that he was calling further to a discussion with a clerk at the firm 3 weeks ago. The caller referenced the clerk by name and indicated he had been authorized to create a website for the firm. The caller then asked if the clerk had spoken to the lawyer. “No” was the reply. The lawyer asked for the web address to look at the new website. The caller replied that there were privacy issues, but that access could be arranged by creating “ID numbers” for the lawyer. This was was clearly a ploy to have the lawyer access an external website that would download malware of some type, presumably to allow external access to the firm’s computers for identity or information theft. The purported Saunders appeared to be calling from an Florida area code (561).

Ontario lawyers and firm staff are warned to watch out for this or similar attempts to gain access to law firm systems. Never disclose computer login names or passwords over the phone or visit a strange website at the request of someone calling your firm, even if they purport to be from an entity familiar to you (e.g., the bank with the firm’s trust accounts).

If you have been targeted by this or as similar frauds, please forward details, including any emails or other documents that you have received to fraudinfo@lawpro.ca.

Lawyers in Ontario have notified us that they’ve received an email from the purported Paul McCartney looking to retain them with regards to a breach of a business loan agreement. This is similar to other frauds of this kind we have seen. For a full description of how this fraud works and to see other names attached to it, see our Confirmed Fraud page that deals with business load frauds.

This is another scam that uses the name of a famous person (as previously done with baseball player Hideki Matsui) to attempt to bury any fraud-related Google results among the results related to the real person.

Here is an example of the email:

From: mc cartney robertlarses@gmail.com
To:
Subject: need a Business/Commercial litigation lawyer

Paul Mc Cartney.

How to handle a real or suspected fraud Read the rest of this entry →

The Solicitors’ Regulation Authority in Britain issued an extraordinary warning that fraudsters have set up phony law firm websites that are sufficiently genuine looking that there’s a real risk of fraud.

It stated: <"em>A small number of bogus firms have sprung up in recent months. We are keen to ensure that you do not have your identity stolen in any way so we have issued some guidance to both firms and the public to be on guard. The latest of these is a bogus website www.bains-cohen.com, which is not a legitimate website of solicitor’s practice, Bains Cohen Solicitors LLP.”

We have seen instances of fake law firm websites on several frauds reported to us, including firms in Toronto and elsewhere in the world. We have also see instances of a fraudster pretending to be a lawyer from a real firm.

The SRA has an excellent list of suspicious factors to watch out for:

• errors in letterheading—in one case the bogus office had letterheading which misspelt the name of the town in which it was supposedly based
• no landline telephone number—note that numbers beginning with 07 are mobile telephone numbers;
• inconsistent telephone or fax numbers with those usually used by the firm;
• telephone calls being diverted to a call-back service;
• a firm apparently based in serviced offices;
• email addresses using generic email accounts—most law firms have addresses incorporating the name of their firm; if in doubt, check the genuine law firm’s website to identify its contact email address. You may well notice a difference;
• sudden appearance in your locality of a firm with no obvious connection to the area, probably not interacting with other local firms at all;
• a firm appearing to open a branch office a considerable distance from its head office for no obvious reason;
• a firm based in one part of the country supposedly having a bank account in another part of the country—this is a strong indicator and has been seen several times;
• a client account apparently overseas—this is a breach of rule 13.4 of the SRA Accounts Rules and is a major red flag;
• a strange or suspicious bank account name—such as the account not being in the name of the law firm you are supposedly dealing with either at all or by some variation.

Beware of imposter lawyers and law firms. If you are dealing with a lawyer or law firm you do not know on a matter that has any of the red flags of a fraud. carefully crosscheck contact information on an independent source.

If you suspect you are acting on a matter that might be a fraud, call LAWPRO at 1-800-410-1013 (416-598-5899). We will talk you through the common fraud scenarios we are seeing and help you spot red flags that may indicate you are being duped. This will help you ask appropriate questions of your client to determine if the matter is legitimate or not. If the matter you are acting on turns out to be a fraud and there is a potential claim, we will work with you to prevent the fraud and minimize potential claims costs.

If you have been successfully duped, please immediately notify LAWPRO as there may be a claim against you.

For more immediate updates on fraud and claims prevention, subscribe to the email or RSS feed updates from LAWPRO’s AvoidAClaim blog.

Fraud Fact SheetMore fraud prevention information and resources are available on the practicePRO Fraud page, including the Fraud Fact Sheet, a handy reference for lawyers and law firm staff that describes the common frauds and the red flags that can help identify them.

Lawyers in Illinois and Ontario have notified us that they’ve received an email from the purported Karen Nelson looking to retain them with regards to litigating a debt collection. This is similar to other frauds of this kind we have seen. For a full description of how this fraud works and to see other names attached to it, see our Confirmed Fraud page that deals with business load frauds.

Here is the email:

From: Karen Nelson
To:
Date: 05/08/12 09:15 AM
Subject: Good Day

I request your legal counsel for collection litigation. If interested get back to me for more details. (larchinatsus@qq.com)

How to handle a real or suspected fraud Read the rest of this entry →

Two lawyers in Ontario have notified us that they’ve received an email from the purported Tom Prodromou looking to retain them with regards to a breach of a business loan agreement. This is similar to other frauds of this kind we have seen. For a full description of how this fraud works and to see other names attached to it, see our Confirmed Fraud page that deals with business load frauds.

Here is the email:

From: Tom Prodromou [mailto:ashtcool@yahoo.com]
Sent: May 6, 2012 2:31 AM
To: undisclosed recipients:
Subject: law aid

Tom Prodromou

How to handle a real or suspected fraud Read the rest of this entry →

Microsoft OneNote may be less familiar than other programs in the Microsoft Office suite, but it now comes included with MS Office 2010 and its once lawyers realize its uses its popularity should skyrocket. What’s the best way to describe it? Think of old spiral notepad, but with a wealth of additional features.

Imagine your dog-eared yellow notepad, but with the ability to do the following (and much more):

• Search text
• Tag your notes as questions, to-do’s, ideas, etc
• Insert audio or images
• Share and collaborate with others by storing remotely
• Integrate with Outlook

This books shows lawyers how to learn the basics quickly and then put this software to use as a powerful tool for all the notetaking that is part of every lawyer’s daily routine.

The practicePRO Lending Library is a free resource for Ontario lawyers of more than 100 books on a wide variety of law practice management related topics. You can see a full listing of our books here. You may borrow a book in person or via e-mail.

The practicePRO Library is located in our office at 250 Yonge Street, Suite 3101 in Toronto and can be visited during our regular business hours (Mon to Fri, 8:30 to 5:00). We invite you to come by anytime to peruse our selection. All titles in the practicePRO Lending Library can be shipped to Ontario lawyers at our expense, and returned at yours after three weeks.

If you would like to borrow this or any other book please email us. Most of our titles are also available from the ABA Web Store or the major booksellers here in Canada.

A lawyer in Quebec and at least one in Ontario have received emails from the purported Wang Mesh of Wang Mesh Industry Co. with regards to a commercial debt litigation scam. Unfortunately, the Ontario lawyer who was contacted was successfully duped for over $300,000.

For examples of other names attached to this kind of fraud see our Confirmed Fraud Page. For an explanation of how this fraud works see our Fraud Fact Sheet.

Here is the initial email:

Expéditeur: WANG Mesh wangmeshgroups@hotmail.com
Date: 20 April, 2012 21:46:01 EDT
Destinataire: lawyer name
Objet: URGENT

Wang Mesh

How to handle a real or suspected fraud Read the rest of this entry →

Thirteen Ontario lawyers have notified us that they’ve received an email from a “Mr Marsden” of Alfa Construction Ltd asking to retain their services. The address given looks to be a residential address in North York, ON, though a Google search of the company name finds a similar company entry in Nepean, ON and California. There may or may not be a real company with that name. It would appear to be a setup for a debt litigation scam. For examples of other names attached to this kind of fraud see our Confirmed Fraud Page. For an explanation of how this fraud works see our Fraud Fact Sheet.

Here is the initial email:

From: Mr. Marsden [mailto:a.marsden@alfaconstructionltd.com]
Sent: April 30, 2012 9:30 AM
To: lawyer name
Subject: RE: Alfa Construction Ltd

Attn: Counsel
Good day to you, I trust your week is going well.
I am writing on behalf of Alfa Construction Ltd requesting legal representation from your firm.
We have a client located in your city and are in need of legal advice as our legal representative cannot represent us because this matter is out of their area of expertise and has urged us to seek represntation regarding this matter.
Your firms profile was reviewed by our company and we believe that this case is well within your jurisdiction which is why we write asking for your firms services.
Please know that we are willing to provide you with a more detailed explanation/information once we know your position in representing Alfa Construction Ltd.
We would appreciate it if you could give us a responses if your firm is willing to represent Alfa Construction Ltd.
Sincerely,
Mr. Marsden
a.marsden@alfaconstructionltd.com
Tel:1-289-628-6330

How to handle a real or suspected fraud Read the rest of this entry →