by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: October 2014

Primary Name Associated: Glenn Luo

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Three Ontario firms notified us that they received an email from the purported Glenn Luo looking to retain them with regards to a commercial debt collection.

This is a classic bad cheque scam that presents as legal matter requiring the assistance of a lawyer. In this scam lawyers will be duped into wiring real funds from their trust accounts after depositing a fake cheque received as payment from the debtor (who is part of the fraud). See our Confirmed Fraud Page for more of an explanation of how these frauds work and to see other names associated with it. Our Fraud Fact Sheet lists the red flags of a bogus legal matter that is really a fraud.

Here is the initial email from the fraudster to the lawyer:

On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 7:25 AM, Glenn Luo wrote:
> I am Attorney Glenn, an attorney at M&A, Law office here in China. I
> urgently have a debt collection matter for you in your jurisdiction. Please
> reply me via email to discuss this further. Because of the time difference
> between China and your country, we can communicate via email.
> Hope to receive a quick response to this email.
> Regards
> Attorney Glenn LUO

Replying to the email brought this response:

Thanks for your prompt response. Please be informed that the debt in question is as a result of an outstanding payment of $477,320.00 for equipments delivered in good condition to our customer (Liftow Toronto 3150 American drive Toronto,ON L4v1b4) The due date for payment as agreed based on our signed agreement & issued invoice was 1st of October, 2013. Please do carry out a conflict check on my debtor and let me know if it’s a collection your firm could assist my company in handling.

Finally and most importantly, be informed that we intend working on a contingency basis and we will like to draw your attention to the relationship with our customer which has been cordial and we have had successful business relationship over the past few years, and it is in our position to maintain this relationship after collection of the outstanding sum owed to us if it’s possible.

Upon receipt of your positive response, I will send you a copy of the agreement and invoice for the collection. I look forward to a timely response from you.

Sincerely,

Attorney Glenn LUO
M & A Law office, China

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. Instructions on how to report a claim are here.

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

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.