by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: August 2014

Primary Name Associated: Ayaka Amaya

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Ayaka Amaya (or Cho Daichi) of Miho Suzuki Ltd 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 contact email sent by the fraudster to the lawyer:

From: Ayaka Amaya [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 4:21 PM
To: Ayaka Amaya
Subject: I NEED LAWYER

Dear Sir

We are seeking legal representation regarding various outstanding invoices owed our firm. Our goal is to retain legal counsel if your services are available at this time.
Please kindly confirm regarding the above to enable us provide needed information.
Contact the undersigned by email at: ([email protected])
Thank you.
Ayaka Amaya
www.mihosuzuki.org

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.