by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: February 2014

Primary Name Associated: Osamu Mizuno

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario firm notified us that they received an email from the purported Osamu Mizuno of Adtec Engineering 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: Osamu Mizuno
To:
Date: 29/01/2014 11:52 AM
Subject: legal rep.

Dear Sir,

This is an official request for your legal consultation services on behalf of Adtec Engineering Co Ltd. we are based in Japan. Our principal
activity is manufacturing of Electronics device and component as well as being professional exporter of various Electronics items.

We are presently incapacitated due to international legal boundaries to exert pressure on our delinquent customers in your locality who
owe us money and we request for your services accordingly. We got your contact information from a lawyer directory as a result of our
urgent need for a reliable firm or individual/firm to provide legal services as requested.

If you are interested I will forward you the document for your review, please accept my sincerest appreciation on behalf of our company in
advance for your willingness to render your services as we look forward to your prompt response to our request.

Thanks
Osamu Mizuno President
Adtec Engineering Co Ltd
3-5-1 Toranomon
Minato-ku
Tokyo, 105-0011
Japan
Phone: 81-3-3433-4600
Fax: 81-3-3433-4330
http://www.adtec.com

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.