by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: September 2012

Primary Name Associated: Hiroaki Miyahara

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Two lawyers in Ontario and one in Oregon have reported to us that they’ve been contacted by the purported Hiroaki Miyahara of Gakken Co Ltd with regards to retaining their services to collect on a breach of an IP agreement. This is similar to other IP and copyright frauds we’ve seen. For details on how this scam works and to see other names associated with it, see our Confirmed Fraud page.

Here is the initial email.

From: Hiroaki Miyahara [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 12 September 2012 14:40
To: Chester, Simon (Heenan Blaikie)
Subject: Legal Matter

We are media publisher company in Japan. We have a breach of intellectual property agreement matter in your jurisdiction, we can forward you the agreement and other party information for your review to enable you run a conflict check.

Yours Sincerely

Hiroaki Miyahara
President, Representative Director
Gakken Co., Ltd.,
4-28-5 Nishi-Gotanda Shinagawa-ku
Tokyo Japan 141-8502
Telephone: +81 (0)3/34 93 33 51
[email protected]

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.