by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: May 2013

Primary Name Associated: Franca Accoroni

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 Franca Accoroni of Elettronica Laser with regards to a commercial debt collection 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: Franca Accoroni [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: April 24, 2013 1:31 AM
To:
Subject: Legal Rep


We are Italian company and require your assistant in collection matter,
please let us know if you can handle the case we shall forward you the
detail so you can run a conflict check.
Yours Sincerely,

Franca Accoroni: Resp. Contatto
Elettronica Laser s.n.c.
Via Sacripanti 36/38 60131 Ancona
Tel. 071-2866075
http://www.elettronicalaser.com/home.php
Email: [email protected]

A lawyer who replied got this response:

Thanks for the update below is the default customer information, please run a conflict check and advise us on your retainer fee also send us your retainer agreement. The outstanding debt is $650,000.00USD

Adverse Party

Aus-Tex Electric
1525 Willburforce Street
Houston, TX 77091-2077

Franca Accoroni: Resp.
Marima Srl
Via Costituzione 66 42042 Fabbrico (RE)
Tel.0522-652823
http://www.marimasrl.it/

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.