by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: September 2015

Primary Name Associated: Hiroya Kawasaki

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Over 140 firms in Canada and the U.S. have notified us that they received an email from the purported Hiroya Kawasaki of Kobe Steel looking to retain them with regards to a commercial debt collection..

This appears to be a 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 purchaser (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 email received by lawyers when they responded to the original contact:

We appreciate you giving us a chance to discuss our case. We placed an order for some goods from THE HOME DEPOT back in August, 2014 and the terms of the sales contract requires we to pay 50% of the total cost of the ordered goods before delivery and the balance after we have received the same goods. However, after we made the 50% initial deposit, we did not receive any goods as required. The goods ought to be delivered in September, 2014. More time was given to them to deliver the goods which they were still unable to meet with. Hence, we requested for a refund.

We have made several efforts to have them refund the initial deposit, but to no avail. We have therefore decided to resort to legal means since there is an existing agreement prior to the transaction. Find below details of the supplier for your conflict check.

THE HOME DEPOT
1825 Brookdale Ave
Cornwall, ON K6J 5X7

We have suffered so much loss as a result of this failed transaction and we are ready to proceed with litigation if the need should arise. Let us know the best way to have this issue tackled and we will comply as long as we get results. Furthermore , we have concerns and would like you to respond in detail in your reply.

Are they any foibles you see in this case? If litigation is involved, the distance gives us some concern with regards to court appearances. How can this be handled?

How much is your legal fee? Do you charge on hourly basis or contingency? What should we expect from you? Any guarantees? Please advise on your assessment of this case. A quick response will be appreciated.

Regards,
Hiroya Kawasaki
KOBE STEEL, LTD.
9-12, Kita-Shinagawa 5-chome,
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-8688, Japan

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.

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

Fraud Fact SheetMore 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.