Date First Reported: September 2012

Primary Name Associated: Iwashima Lui

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

A lawyer in Ontario and five in the U.S. have notified us that they have received an email from the purported Iwashima Lui of Iwashima Electronics Co Ltd with regards to a commercial debt litigation scam. For examples of other names attached to this kind of fraud see our Confirmed Fraud Page. For an explanation of how this fraud works see our Fraud Fact Sheet.

Here is the initial email:

From: Iwashima Lui [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: September-23-12 4:41 PM
To: Lawyer Name
Subject: Legal Counsel

Subject: Legal Counsel
I am Iwashima Lui and I am the Accounts Officer at Iwashima Electronics Co.,Ltd. I was referred to you by the lawyer referral service.
The management of Iwashima Electronics Co.,Ltd.
requires your legal counsel in helping us seek redress from our debtors in your region who owe us money and breached our purchase agreement. A referral would be welcomed if this is not your area of practice. Looking forward to reading from you.

Iwashima Lui
Accounting Officer II,
Iwashima Electronics Co.,Ltd.
2-39, Chihara-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi
ZIP 453-0011 EMAIL: [email protected]

A lawyer who replied got this response and fake document:

Thanks for your responds, please see attached document for your review run a conflict check and advice on your retainer fee our opposing company information is below the breach of contract is for the sum of $1,150,000.00

Debtor

H B Electronics Co
494 Greenwich Street
New York, NY 10013

Please send us retainer agreement ( engagement letter) looking forward hearing from you.

Regards

Iwashima Lui
Senior Executive Manager
Iwashima Electronics Co.,Ltd.
2-39, Chihara-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi
ZIP 453-0011

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.