by FraudInfo

Date First Reported: April 2013

Primary Name Associated: Hiroshi Kitagawa

Description of Potential Fraud:

fraud-warning

An Ontario lawyer and a lawyer in Pennsylvania notified us that they have received an email from the purported Hiroshi Kitagawa of Eta Electric Industry Co. 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: Eta Electric Industry Co Ltd [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, March 29, 2013 3:18 AM
To:
Subject: Legal services

Dear Sir/Madam,

Eta Electric Industry Co., Ltd is a Japan based company We require your firms Legal services in some outstanding payment matters with a number of debtors in your jurisdiction. Please confirm your firm’s availability in this regards for services, A referral would be welcomed if this is not your area of practice. as we await your prompt reply.

Do have a nice day.

Hiroshi Kitagawa
Senior Executive Manager,
Eta Electric Industry Co., Ltd
16-10, Hon-Haneda 2-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo
ZIP 144-8611
EMAIL: [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.