by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: May 2013

Primary Name Associated: Kane Mathews

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario lawyer has notified us that he received an email from the purported Kane Mathews of Wing Fung Manufacturing with regards to a commercial 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: Kane Mathews [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: May-06-13 12:12 AM
To:
Subject: Lawyer Needed Urgently

Attn,

My name is Kane Mathews and I am the Head of International Business Development. I am writing to get information on the process of collecting a debt from one of our clients whom we (Wing Fung Manufacturing Company Limited) supplied goods (High Quality Stainless Steel buckles and Wristwatches) worth $67,566 CAD who lives in Canada. I was the one who brought his business to my company and he has been our client for over 4yrs now.

Our office is in China and I came to the US for a project and will be around for the next 4weeks. Just let me know the requirements so I can furnish you with complete details as the client is not saying he won’t pay but he is dragging his feet, once he hears from a lawyer that should speed up the process.

I would prefer to work with a Lawyer who will charge a percentage of the total debt owed rather than paying retainer-ship. My goal is to make sure I get our client to make payment before I return back to Asia as his debt will not be written off but transferred to me based on company policy. Feel Free to give me a call.

Regards,
Kane Mathews
832-406-8084

How to handle a real or suspected fraud

If you have been targeted by any of these frauds, please forward any of the emails and supporting documents that you have received to [email protected].

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.

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Fraud Fact Sheet More 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.