Date First Reported: June 2012

Primary Name Associated: Alexis Yu Man-Chiu

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

Two Ontario lawyers have just reported to us that they received the following message from the purported Alexis Yu Man-Chiu. This scam is very similar to other breach licence scams we have seen over the last several months. It is a setup to dupe a lawyer into wiring good funds from a trust account after depositing a fraudulent cheque received in payment of damages.

Here is a copy of the message the lawyers received:

From: Alexis Yu,Man-Chu [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, June 06, 2012 02:15 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Trademark Infringement

Dear Attorney:

We have a case of trade mark infringement that we wish that you review for us. If your practice schedule will allow you take in new client or interview new client, please advice.

Should you want to look at the merit of our case, I will quickly forward all pertinent documents regarding our claim.

Thank you and Please respond promptly to our inquiry.

Regards,
Alexis Yu, Man-Chiu

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 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.