Fraud emails now referencing the “Lawyer Referral Service”
The Law Society of Upper Canada has advised us that at least one Ontario lawyer has been targeted with a traditional bad cheque scam that indicated that the fraudster found the lawyer through the “Lawyer Referral Service”. This may be a new tactic to convince Ontario lawyers that the emails are legitimate.
This particular fraud was the Iwashima Lui business debt collection scam, though there may be others we haven’t seen yet.
The Law Society points out that the name “Lawyer Referral Service” is incorrect. The service has recently been renamed the Law Society Referral Service, and when a genuine referral has been made confirmation would be sent. Lawyers can also call the Law Society to confirm the validity of any referrals.
Categories: Fraud Prevention
September 24, 2012 at 9:36 am, Dwight Montgomery said:
I received the following email this weekend. I called the LSRS and Iwashima Electronics were not referred to me by them. I believe this is an attempt at fraud.
Subject: Legal Counsel
I am Iwashima Lui and I am the Accounts Officer at Iwashima Electronics Co.,Ltd. I was referred to you by the lawyer referral service.
The management of Iwashima Electronics Co.,Ltd.
requires your legal counsel in helping us seek redress from our debtors in your region who owe us money and breached our purchase agreement. A referral would be welcomed if this is not your area of practice. Looking forward to reading from you.